Police operatives seized half a kilo of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu with an estimated P6.8 million worth during an anti-illegal drugs operation Tuesday evening in Dumaguete City in which two suspected drug pushers were arrested.
This is so far the biggest “shabu” haul in Negros Oriental for this year, according to Insp. Ryan Jay Orapa, chief of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Special Operations Task Group of the Philippine National Police in Negros Oriental.
Orapa identified the arrested suspects as Holden Jocum Ferrolino, 32, a resident of Barangay Piapi and Reymark Secheco Amistoso, 22, of Barangay Buñao, all in Dumaguete City.
Around 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, combined elements of the provincial PNP Intelligence Branch and the Special Operations Group, led by Sr. Insp. Jul Mohammad Jamiri, in lateral coordination with the PAIDSOTG and the Dumaguete police, swooped down on the suspects in an entrapment operation in Barangay Daro of this capital city.
Seized from the suspects were 117 pieces of large heat-sealed transparent plastic packs of suspected shabu, with an estimated weight of 508 grams and valued at around P6.8 million based on the Dangerous Drugs Board pricing of the prohibited substance and a mobile phone, said Orapa.
Ferrolino is tagged by the police as a Level 2 “drug pusher” for allegedly disposing at least half a kilo of the illegal drugs per week, while Amistoso is his alleged runner, Orapa added.
The police officer disclosed that the arrest of Ferrolino and Amistoso has further strengthened the PNP’s previous pronouncements that a main supply line of shabu in Negros Oriental is from within the confines of the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila.
Orapa further disclosed that this was seen in the text messages found in the mobile phone confiscated from the two suspects.
Police believe that the large volume of “shabu” had just been delivered to Ferrolino, a former employee of a courier chain with many outlets in Dumaguete, Orapa revealed.
Orapa went on to say that Ferrolino, who was under close surveillance for several weeks already prior to his arrest, had access to and knew the ropes of the courier system, which made it easy for him to retrieve shipment from Metro Manila.
At first, he would allegedly claim the shipment directly from the airport instead of picking it up from any of the courier’s outlets, according to Orapa.
Just recently though, perhaps sensing he was being tailed, Ferrolino reportedly sent his “right-hand man”, Amistoso, to pick up the latest delivery at an outlet near the Capitol.
Immediately afterwards, the police operatives set up an entrapment operation against the two suspects.
Orapa disclosed that the 117 plastic packs of shabu were concealed in various items and placed inside a box addressed to Ferrolino.
He described the proliferation of shabu in Dumaguete and other parts of Negros Oriental as “alarming”, as each time a police operation is launched, the volume of illegal drugs involved is getting “bigger”.
Also, the illegal drugs that arrive in the province, usually in Dumaguete, is intended for local clientele and that shabu is easily disposed of due to several factors, such as an increase in demand for it, Orapa added.
The suspects were formally charged on Wednesday with a non-bailable offense in violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act and are now under detention. (PNA/LAP/JFP)
