P2.4-M worth of shabu seized in Koronadal City police operation

COTABATO CITY — Plainclothes policemen confiscated P2.4 million worth of shabu from three drug peddlers in an entrapment operation in Barangay Santo Niño, Koronadal City, on Wednesday night, April 23.

Local executives and senior members of the Koronadal City Peace and Order Council confirmed on Friday, April 25, that the three suspects, Richie Lasanas Gallego, 39, Dexter Tabaque Pinado, 32, and Sabino Baylon Antenor, 42, are now in police custody.

Brig. Gen.  Arnold Ardiente, director of the Police Regional Office-12, said that the suspects will be prosecuted for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, with the P2.4 million worth of shabu seized from them to be used as evidence. 

Gallego, Pinado and Antenor were arrested on the spot after selling P2.4 million worth of shabu to plainclothes policemen, led by Lt. Col. Peter Pinalgan, Jr., director of the Koronadal City Police Office, during an entrapment operation in Purok Twin River West, Barangay Santo Niño, in Koronadal City, the capital of Region 12.

Ardiente and Pinalgan both confirmed that the operation, which led to the suspects' arrest, was carefully coordinated with the assistance of local officials.