P7.2M shabu seized in September

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Police operatives have confiscated a total of P7,254,422 worth of shabu and arrested 36 suspects from 40 anti-illegal drugs operations in Negros Oriental for the month of September.

This week alone, P300,000 worth of shabu was seized in two operations in this capital city, according to Chief Inspector Benedick Poblete of the Negros Oriental Police Office’s Provincial Intelligence Branch.

On Friday, members of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, the PIB, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Dumaguete City Police raided the house of Kenny Belandres at purok Orchids, Sitio Canday-ong of Barangay Calindagan.

The raid, witnessed by Barangay Councilman Meliton Patrimonio, resulted in the confiscation of four bultos (street slang for large volumes of illegal drugs) of shabu, weighing about 20 grams, with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P236,000, a police report said.

Law enforcers also recovered during the search a Lenovo cellphone, a blue book containing records of transactions by the hundreds of thousands of pesos, an improvised burner, tin foils and lighters, among others.

PAIDSOTG team leader, Senior Inspector Ryan Jay Orapa, said the supply of shabu for this group came from Cebu, and the 31-year-old Belandres was the “trusted person” in money safekeeping and in depositing this in the bank.

Two other members of the organization, identified by Orapa as Sullivan Berwasa and Jun Belandres, were at large after escaping from the police dragment during a separate buy-bust operation early yesterday morning. They will still be charged with selling shabu, Orapa said.

Last Tuesday morning, law enforcement agents conducted an anti-illegal drugs operation at Zone 3 in Barangay Looc, this city, where they found 14 sachets of shabu, weighing about 4.5 grams and valued at P53,000.

The arrested suspect was identified as 42-year-old Ronaldo Cerilla Abreja a resident of Zone 2 of the same barangay.