Another delivery rider has been arrested for delivering drugs.
Last Saturday, operatives of the Drug Enforcement Unit of the Inayawan Police Station arrested Lorenz Uy Jurado, 29, a resident of Barangay Duljo-Fatima, Cebu City, for being in possession of 825 grams of shabu valued at ?5.6 million.
Jurado, who allegedly admitted to being a drug courier to augment his meager income as a delivery rider, is considered a high-value individual in the drug trade. Police also said this was his third delivery of drugs since entering the nefarious trade.
Earlier last December 20, policemen assigned to Mandaue City also arrested delivery rider Kent Kirk Calonge Ponsica, 29, in Barangay Subangdaku for allegedly delivering drugs. He was found with 4.5 kilos of shabu worth a whopping ?30.6 million.
The police better watch out: it would seem that drug syndicates are now using delivery riders to move their drugs more easily. Either that or that some delivery riders themselves are choosing to get into dealing drugs because they already have some of the necessary tools and resources.
Don’t get us wrong here, we aren’t targeting delivery riders or pointing out to all of them as likely drug couriers. Desperation knows no occupation; anyone in any job, even a good-paying one, can likely fall into the drug trap if they feel they aren’t making enough money.
This could also be seen as a sad reflection of the times. Delivery riders have become essential to our economy since they became indispensable during the pandemic lockdowns. It’s definitely not an easy job; considering the long hours and the hazards and discomforts that come with being on the road for most of the day.
It’s sad to hear that many of them don’t earn enough even with all their hardships. But they should also be cautioned that if they enter the drug trade they are taking huge risks, risks that will cost them more than it will pay them.