P2.15M shabu seized in saturation drive

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – More than 2.15 million worth of shabu were confiscated yesterday during a saturation drive conducted at Purok Mutya of Sitio Canday-ong at Barangay Calindagan, this city.

The drive was conducted by joint elements of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police, headed by Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos, and the Dumaguete City Police officer-in-charge, Superintendent Jovito Atanacio, as well as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the SWAT.

Subjects of the search were four residential houses of Rosemarie Melon, Ryan Sales, Roy Romano and Jovie Sendiong, through a search warrant issued by Executive Judge Gerardo Paguio Jr.

The entire area was cordoned off by the raiding team, yielding positive results, although Sales was no longer around when the lawmen arrived. The search, as witnessed by Councilman Meliton Patrimonio, yielded three small sachets and big sachets of shabu and drugs paraphernalia.

Recovered from the residence of Sendiong, as witnessed by Councilman Roxan Pahayahay, were two sachets of shabu, cash proceeds, and other drugs paraphernalia, while at Romano’s residence, the lawmen, as witnessed by Councilman Ronnie Ryan Calumpang, found one sachet of shabu, lighters and tinfoils.

At Rosemarie Melon's house, one of the boarders identified as a certain Benjie Quisay, of Sta. Catalina town, was able to jumped off the house through a backdoor taking with a sack believed to contain an undetermined amount of money and illegal drugs.

However, a paper bag was left behind near a banana plant and an area planted with “kangkong.” The bag contained three bultos of shabu, P34,500 cash, a big needle used for repacking, a plastic sealer, scissors, lighters, a weighing scale and cellphones, among others.

Rosemarie Melon, in an interview, told The FREEMAN she was not involved in the illegal drugs trade, but identified her boarder Benjie was with a certain Carla, the wife of Marcial Melon Jr. who, together with their father Marcial Sr., is now serving a drug sentence at the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City.

CIDG-7 regional intelligence officer, Chief Inspector Maximo Sumeg-ang Sr. personally supervised the search at Melon’s residence. The estimated total amount of the seized shabu was P2.15 million, according to the authorities.