P1M drug haul
Police arrest 16 suspects in separate operations in cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu
Among those in custody are 63-year-old Valeria Puza and her children Marlon, 30, and Marisol, 40, who were taken into custody during a buy-bust; the family has reportedly been involved in the illegal drug trade in Sitio Ibabao, Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City for a long time
POLICE flagged down Enrique “Junjun” Valencia on Carlock St., Barangay San Nicolas, Cebu City around 4 a.m. last Wednesday.
They gave the 39-yearold a traffic citation for not wearing a helmet and for not having a side mirror on his motorcycle.
But then they noticed the .38 revolver tucked in his waistband.
They also recovered from Valencia’s possession 11 medium packs of shabu weighing 50 grams with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P590,000.
An anti-drug operation conducted by the City Intelligence Branch (CIB) resulted to the arrest of Jeffrey Tumakay, 28, who hails from Sitio Buli, Barangay Duljo-Fatima, Cebu City at 6 p.m.
He was caught with a medium pack of shabu and a .38 revolver with two bullets.
Pardo police also arrested two persons with P165,000 worth of shabu yesterday dawn.
They were identified as Angelbert Navarro, 20 and Angelica Salarisma, 19.
Informant’s tip
Pardo police received a tip about the suspects’ illegal transaction and they spotted them aboard a motorcycle.
Police found a medium pack of shabu in Salarisma’s possession, while they found two medium packs of shabu inside Navarro’s pocket.
The arrested persons will be charged with violating Republic Act, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
In Lapu-Lapu City, 12 suspects, including three family members, were arrested in separate operations in the past two days.
Almost half a million worth of illegal drugs and a firearm were seized from them.
New players
Yesterday, members of the Lapu-Lapu City CIB led by Senior Insp. Joey Bicoy caught three men in a buybust in Soong 1, Barangay Mactan at 7:40 a.m.
The suspect were identified as Edwin Yarag, 34; Allan Igot Jr., 22; and Gilbert Icot, 25. They all reside in Barangay Mactan.
Their cohort Anthony Paquibot escaped.
Bicoy said the suspects are newly identified players in the illegal drug trade.
The three were arrested after the police decoy bought a medium pack of shabu worth P16,000 from them.
Another three medium packs of shabu, the boodle money and P3,000 cash were seized from Yarag, the subject of the operation.
A medium pack and a sachet of shabu were each recovered from Icot and Igot.
Two hours later, Bicoy’s team caught Ariel Aying, 25; Christian Ugsang, 25; and Dennis Aying, 33, in the same area.
Ten sachets of illegal drugs were seized from the suspects.
Authorities also recovered the P300 buy-bust money and P1,300 cash from Ariel, who was the main subject, and a .22 Smith and Wesson revolver with five live ammunition from Ugsang.
Pusok drive
The drugs confiscated from the six suspects, who reportedly belong to the same group, were worth P430,000.
Before the CIB’s operation, personnel of Police Station 5 caught Ronald Ycong, 45, and Armelyn “Inday” Babaylo, 21, in Ibabao, Barangay Pusok at 2:43 a.m.
Chief Insp. Wayne Magbanua, station chief, said 30 sachets of shabu worth P18,290 and the buy-bust money were recovered from Ycong, while they seized drug paraphernalia from Babaylo.
Last Wednesday, Police Station 4 arrested 63-year-old Valeria Puza and her children Marlon, 30, and Marisol, 40, in Sitio Ibabao in Barangay Basak around 4 p.m.
Paolo Jay Amores, 22, was also arrested after a sachet of illegal drugs was found in his possession.
PO3 Rosvelt Matuog of Police Station 4 said Valeria was their main target.
“Pamilya gyud ni sila. Dugay na ni sila naninda (The family has long been selling illegal drugs),” Matuog said.
Ten other sachets of shabu worth P3,900, the buy-bust money and another P300 cash were seized from them.
The suspects were detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office holding cell.