COMBINED agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday seized an estimated 60 kilograms of shabu worth P414 million during a buy-bust operation in Marilao, Bulacan, PDEA chair Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva said yesterday.

The official identified the suspect who was arrested in a sting along Kilometer 32 in Marilao municipality 10:00 a.m. Wednesday as Jalon Supe Kaureta, a resident of Daisy Street, Green Valley, Molino II in Bacoor City, Cavite.

Recovered from the suspect were the huge volume of shabu and a Toyota Altis, said the PDEA chief.

“We have arrested a ‘high-value target’ in the country following weeks of surveillance,” said Villanueva.

As of press time, PDEA and PNP operatives are still conducting follow-up operations to identify and arrest the main source of the huge volume of the so-called “poor man’s cocaine” confiscated from the suspect.

Members of the PDEA Intelligence Service and Region 4 office, the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) headed by Brig. Gen. Randy Q. Peralta, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) arrested the suspect.

The suspect is now being questioned at the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City. He will be facing non-bailable charges for sale and possession of prohibited drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 which carries the penalty of life imprisonment and a maximum fine of P10 million upon conviction.

The suspect was the 1st major catch of the PDEA this month amid its stepped-up effort to go after big-time drug personalities in the country thru “intelligence-driven operations.”

Dir. Gen. Villaneuva said that from July 1, 2016 to last January 31, government law enforcement agents led by the PDEA and the PNP now under Gen. Dionardo B. Carlos have already arrested and jailed a total of 14,389 “HVTs” (high value target).

The jailed HVTs include 352 foreign nationals, 396 elected officials, 126 uniformed personnel, 522 government employees, 3,989 “target-listed” drug personalities, 797 drug group leaders/members, 75 armed group members, 1,598 drug den maintainers, 291 wanted listed personalities, 24 celebrities/Professional Regulations Commission license holders; and 6,319 others who were arrested as a result of high-impact operations.

During the period in review, government agents have accounted for P75.35 billion worth of prohibited drugs including 9.83 kilograms of shabu valued at P63.22 billion.

Law enforcement agents have also smashed 1,008 secret drug dens and 18 shabu clandestine laboratories during the period, according to Villanueva.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon