By LESLEY CAMINADE VESTIL
CEBU CITY – An estimated P3 million worth of shabu were confiscated by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) from a couple in Central Visayas Tuesday.
PDEA7 spokesperson, Leia Albear, identified the suspects as Mesael and Janice Palermo.
Albear said they had been monitoring the activities of the couple for some time prior to their arrest.
They believe the two took over Franz Sabalones’ drug business.
Sabalones was a notorious drug kingpin who used to operate in Cebu and Talisay. He surrendered to authorities in 2016.
Based on PDEA-7’s intelligence report, the couple was running their drug business using a remittance center as front.
Recovered from the two upon their arrest were nine huge packages containing shabu.
PDEA-7 is still investigating if Sabalones is involved in the couple’s operation.
Meanwhile, PDEA-7 also uprooted more than 22,000 fully grown marijuana plants believed to be worth more than R8M in the sitios of Guardia and Mapa in Barangay Tagbao, Cebu, Tuesday.