By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
Anti-narcotics agents seized Wednesday midnight some 24 kilos of shabu worth P163 million in a house in Sta. Ana, Manila, following the arrest of four alleged big-time drug suppliers and pushers, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde presented the seized illegal drugs in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday noon and expressed belief that it may have been smuggled into the country by big-time “players.”
He said members of Caloocan City Police Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) conducted a buy-bust operation in front of Manila Central University (MCU) in Barangay 81, Caloocan around 5:45 p.m.
Police arrested during the operation Luzviminda Basilio and Jocelyn Santos, believed to be part of an organized drug syndicate operating in Metro Manila.
Recovered from the suspects were the R3,000 marked money and at least 20 grams of suspected shabu.
During interrogation, the suspects revealed that their suppliers were coming from Santa Ana, Manila, so a follow-up operation was conducted by the police team.
The team conducted Wednesday midnight a buy-bust operation in a house located at Interior 21, Pasig Line, Barangay 778, Zone 85, Santa Ana, Manila, which resulted in the apprehension of Ian Akira Calabio, 26, and his mother Ruby, 61.
The team found inside the unit a silver luggage bag containing 24 packs of suspected shabu weighing one kilo each, police said. Authorities also recovered from the suspects the P30,000 buy-bust money.
Albayalde said each pack has Chinese character imprints on it so he suspects that the seized drugs may have been smuggled into the country by Chinese drug syndicates.
“I have already given a directive to our investigators to determine how these drugs have entered our country and if there are bigger personalities working behind this, identify them and arrest them,” Albayalde said.
The four suspects were brought to the Caloocan City Police detention facility and charges for conspiracy in selling (Section 26) and possession of illegal drugs (Section 11) under the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 will be filed against them before the court.
