Drug buy-bust: Councilor’s son, ex-soldier nabbed

CATBALOGAN CITY, Philippines – A son of an incumbent city councilor here together with an accomplice, and ex-soldier of the Philippine Army, were nabbed by policemen of the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG) in a drug buy-bust at a hotel, a few meters from the City Hall last Tuesday afternoon.

The police identified the suspect as Roel Arcales, son of incumbent Councilor Ernesto Arcales who also served as 3-term mayor of this city and 3-term vice governor of Samar province.

The other alleged accomplice was named Anthonie Lou Bugal, a former soldier who hailed from Javier town in Leyte.

In a police statement obtained by The Freeman, Arcales and Bugal were arrested after they allegedly sold to a police poseur-buyer a big heat-sealed plastic sachet known locally as “bulto,” believed to contain the illegal methamphetamine hydrochloride substance or shabu.

Chief Supt. Elmer Soria, director of the Police Regional Office-8, told The Freeman that, aside from the suspected shabu, the buy-bust team also confiscated at least 16 plastic sachets containing white granules also believed to be shabu, weighing about 4 grams, with a street value of P20,000.

“This is on top of a .45-caliber pistol with two magazines loaded with bullets recovered from the suspects and several drug paraphernalia like digital weighing scale, improvised tooters, lighters, scissors, empty sachets and aluminum foils,” Soria said.

The seized items were brought to the Regional Crime Laboratory Office-8 for documentation and examination, while appropriate charges were filed against the two suspects who are now detained at the City Police;s lock-up cell.

“If the court finds them guilty for violating the law, then let the axe fall where it may. Let this successful operation serves as warning to drug pushers. There will be no sacred cows and nobody will be spared in our illegal drugs campaign,” Soria added. (FREEMAN)