1 caught, one escapes in Camotes drug bust

CEBU, Philippines - Several packets of illegal drugs worth P48,000 were confiscated by the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Group in a buy-bust operation Sunday in Barangay Santa Cruz, San Francisco town in Camotes Islands.

The subject of the operation, a certain Edmund Formentera, eluded arrest but his cohort, Dindo Garvy Caballes, a resident of the place, was arrested.

Operatives recovered one large, 20 medium and 30 small packets of suspected shabu that were taken to the Philippine Natio-nal Police Crime Laboratory-7 for chemical analysis.

SPO1 Francis Allen Villamor, team leader, told The FREEMAN that Formentera was under surveillance for two weeks following reports of his illegal drug activities.

Villamor said that around 6 p.m. on Sunday, while a transaction was ongoing, Formentera noticed the presence of the operatives, prompting him to run away with the P200 marked money. He also threw away a container containing the illegal drugs.

“Uban sa among nakuha didto na sa container nga gilabay ni Edmund pagdagan niya,” Villamor said in a phone interview.

Police did not try to fire to neutralize Formentera because of several houses nearby.

“Lisod na kay daghan ra bang mga balay sa unahan unya basin dunay maigo,” Villamor said.

Villamor said that Formentera is a level-two drug pusher with a shanty few meters away from his house used as his drug den.

Police will be filing charges for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165 or Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against Formentera and Caballes.

Caballes is now temporarily detained at the Cebu Provincial Police Office stockade. —/LPM (FREEMAN)