CEBU CITY—A Christmas Eve anti-drug sting operation here uncovered a total of P13.6 million of shabu, a police official said on Monday.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of an 18-year-old high-value individual identified as Angelo Florex, a resident of Sitio Lawis, Barangay Pasil.
The Police Regional Office-7’s Drug Enforcement Unit chief, Lt. Col. Jomar Dela Cerna, said in a statement that his team conducted the operation on Sunday night at Barangay San Nicolas here.
He said they placed the suspect under surveillance after his name surfaced in their intelligence gatherings for drug personalities in Central Visayas.
“Our team confiscated from Flores two kilos of suspect(ed) shabu. He will face drug charges,” Dela Cerna said.
Flores was detained at a detention facility in Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. as charges would still be filed on Wednesday when work resumes.
Prior to this operation, police also confiscated some P20.4 million worth of shabu from another high-value individual on Dec. 22.
The police said they arrested Jerome Abanto, 43, a resident of Barangay Ermita here in an anti-drug sting in Barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City after several months of surveillance.
Apart from the suspected shabu, the suspect also yielded a gun.
Last week, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said nearly 28,000 villages across the country have been cleared of illegal drugs since the start of the administration of President Marcos.
In its latest report on the national anti-drug campaign, PDEA said 27,968 out of 42,000 barangays (villages) in the country have been declared “drug-cleared” from July 1, 2022 to Nov. 30 this year while 7,543 are still being cleared by authorities.
These barangays have reached drug-cleared status after the issuance of a certification by members of the oversight committee on the barangay drug-clearing program, it added.
Authorities also seized a total of PHP30.39 billion worth of illegal drugs across the country in the same period.
The amount included 4,120.52 kg. of shabu, 48.02 kg. of cocaine, 54,012 ecstasy tablets and 3,106.24 kg. of marijuana, it added.
The latest PDEA data also showed 72,676 drug suspects were arrested during 52,966 anti-illegal drug operations.
Authorities also dismantled 811 drug dens and a clandestine shabu laboratory during the same period. With Vince Lopez