CEBU CITY— Police seized at least P190 million worth of shabu in two buy-bust operations carried out in less than two hours at dawn Sunday.
Operatives of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) first arrested 24-year-old Elymar Ancajas in Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City around 1:30 a.m.
When Ancajas was arrested, police found a bulk of shabu weighing 18 kilos in a stockroom made of GI sheets.
Pieces of garlic were mixed with the bulk of illegal drugs which were packed in black plastic backs.
“The garlic was used to trick the drug-sniffing dogs. They thought that the strong smell of the garlic will prevent the dogs from detecting the contraband when they were transported from ports,” said Police Colonel Royina Garma, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
Garma and Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas, chief of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7), rushed to Inayawan after the arrest.
“We will check with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency if the technique to put garlic in the packaging of shabu will prevent detection,” said Sinas.
Ancajas told the police that his role was just to dispose of the illegal drugs.
Shabu is currently sold at P6,800 per gram. Hence, the illegal drugs seized from Ancajas are worth at least P122 million, said Sinas.
The PRO 7 director said police were able to track down Ancajas after the arrest of another drug suspect.
“A drug suspect was arrested by the operatives of the Pardo Police Station last week. He yielded two kilos of shabu and he identified Ancajas as the source of the illegal drugs,” Sinas said.
Sinas said that upon interrogation, Ancajas revealed the identity of his supplier who turned out to be Jocelyn Encila, who lives in a subdivision in Barangay Casili, Consolacion town, northern Cebu.
Around 3 a.m., police conducted a buy-bust operation and cornered Encila.
When a poseur-buyer transacted with her, Encila was confined in a private hospital in Consolacion town, northern Cebu due to fever and diarrhea.
Sinas said the poseur-buyer was instructed by Encila to pick-up the illegal drugs in her house.
“Encila’s parents where the ones who gave the shabu to our operative who acted as buyer,” said Sinas.
A black plastic bag containing suspected shabu weighing 10 kilos worth at least P68 million was seized from Marcial and his wife Marilyn Encila.
The couple denied any knowledge in their daughter’s alleged illegal drug transaction.
But Sinas said that based on their intelligence gathering, the parents were in cahoots with their daughter.
“They have a big house, they have three vehicles, but they only sell barbeque and charcoals and their daughter is unemployed. Their lifestyle was really suspicious,” said Sinas, who rushed from the earlier operation in Inayawan to the residence of the Encilas.
The Encila couple was brought to the police station, while Jocelyn remained in hospital arrest.
Sinas said Jocelyn’s live-in-partner is currently detained at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa for drug charges but continue to run their illegal drug transactions. (Calvin D. Cordova)