Over P2.9-M shabu seized in Iloilo City drug sting

ILOILO CITY – Anti-drug operatives arrested a 49-year-old suspect considered a high-value individual after he was caught for the third time selling shabu during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Caingin in this city's La Paz district on Friday.

Recovered from the suspect's possession was 430 grams of shabu with a standard drug price of P2.9 million but it could be sold for up to P8.6 million on the street, said Col. Joeresty Coronica, director of the Iloilo City Police Office, who joined the CDEU during the operation.

City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) Chief Lt. Col. Antonio Benitez Jr. said alias "Damian" was first caught in 2013 and released in 2018, but in the same year, he was again apprehended for the same offense and availed of plea bargaining in 2022.

"We monitored him for over a month. It was difficult to penetrate his place, but with the help of residents and an informant, we learned of the arrival of his new stocks," Benitez said in a media interview.

The suspect reportedly has direct contact inside the Bilibid Prison and personally distributes his stocks to his patrons in the city.

Benitez said they are trying to determine how the illegal drugs were shipped to Iloilo. (PNA)