P5.2M illegal drugs seized in one day

Anti-narcotics operatives seized more than P5 million worth of illegal drugs in separate operations in three villages in Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City last Tuesday.

At 9:30 p.m., operatives of the Special Operations Unit (SOU) 5 caught Mark Albano Abella in a drug bust in Sitio Sampaguita, Barangay Tejero.

Seized from the suspect were 175 grams of suspected shabu worth P2.06 million, a value set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

Supt. Glenn Mayam, SOU 5 acting chief, said the suspect is one of the big-time illegal drug distributors in Metro Cebu and neighboring towns.

SOU 5 is composed of Drug Enforcement Group (DEG), Regional Intelligence Division 7, Regional Drug Enforcement Unit 7, Cebu City Intelligence Branch (CIB) and Cebu City Police Station 3.

At 9 p.m., Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) operatives arrested Ricardo Daan Booc. He yielded 5.7 grams of suspected shabu worth P67,260.

In Sitio Mapa, Barangay Tagba-o, operatives of CCPO’s City Mobile Force Company, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7, Naval Intelligence Security Group Central and Provincial Intelligence Branch of the Cebu Provincial Police Office uprooted almost 5,500 marijuana plants worth P2.5 million.

The uprooting started at 5 a.m. and ended at 12 p.m. No one was caught.

Meanwhile, airport employee Jose Allan Berdin, 25, and two of his friends were caught by PDEA 7 in Barangay Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City at 11:30 p.m.

Seized from there were 105.29 grams of suspected shabu worth P526,450.

Berdin’s companions were Efren Julito, 26, and a 17-year-old boy.

Albiar said they monitored Berdin after receiving reports that he continued his illegal drug trade after he surrendered to the police during Oplan Tokhang last year. /