DEG agents collar 3 HVTs, P2.7M shabu seized
A STRING of Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group-led anti-narcotics operation in the country this week resulted in the arrest of three “high-value targets” (HVTs) and confiscation of over P2.7 million worth of shabu, PNP-DEG Director Brigadier General Narciso D. Domingo told the Journal Group yesterday.
In a report to PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr., the official said the arrested suspects were alias “Toto Bruno,” a resident of La Paz, Iloilo City, and two others, including a woman.
Domingo said that alias “Toto Bruno” was arrested at 3:30 p.m. last Monday by undercover officers from the DEG Special Operations Unit (SOU) 6, who were assisted by agents from the Iloilo City Police Station 2.
Recovered from the suspect’s possession were 180 grams of the so-called “poor man’s cocaine” valued at P1.224 million, the boodle money topped by a marked P500 bill, a digital weighing scale, and a ziplock plastic.
The official said that the suspect is now under the custody of the La Paz Police Station.
Domingo said the recovered pieces of drug evidence had been turned over to the Regional Forensic Unit (RFU) 6 for laboratory examination and safekeeping.
On the other hand, the second HVT, a female, was arrested in a sting at Pulang Lupa Uno in Las Piñas City past 9:00 p.m. Tuesday. Members of the DEG SOU 4-A, with the support of the Las Piñas City Police Station, arrested the suspect after she sold drugs to an undercover officer.
The suspect yielded an estimated 110 grams of shabu valued at P748,000, a mobile phone she used to contact the poseur, and the buy-bust money.
Domingo said that the third HVT, a resident of Bgy. 17 in Cagayan de Oro City, yielded an estimated 30 grams of shabu worth P204,000 during an entrapment operation conducted around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday by members of the DEG SOU 10 with the support of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office.
Apart from the drugs, the suspect was also found in possession of the marked money he received from the agent.
All suspects were apprised of their constitutional rights following their arrest before being taken to the local DEG lock-up facility.
They will be facing non-bailable charges for the sale and possession of prohibited drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
