By MARIE TONETTE MARTICIO
TACLOBAN City – Five people, who were caught in Samar carrying some P600 million worth of shabu — the biggest drug haul in Eastern Visayas — last October, were sentenced by a court to languish in jail for life.
In a decision penned on Dec. 11 by Judge Esteban dela Peña of the Regional Trial Court Branch 41 in said town, the accused were found “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” of violating Section 5, under Article 2 of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
They were also ordered to pay a fine of P5 million each.
On the night of October 17 this year, joint operatives of Gandara Municipal Police, Samar Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit and Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU) intercepted two vehicles carrying the contraband at Barangay Buñagan, Gandara, Samar.
The seized 87.835 kilograms of illegal drugs allegedly came from two different sources in Imus, Cavite, and EDSA in Quezon City.
Capt. Joselito Tabada, Gandara Police chief, said that the two vehicles — a gray Mitsubishi driven by one Cesar Uy with two passengers identified as Steven Perez and a minor, and a black Nissan Sentra driven by Elbert Abella with passengers identified as Jeralou Laborte (who was five months pregnant then); and Leonard delos Reyes, all residents of Cebu — were heading to Ormoc City when they were flagged down at a checkpoint along Maharlika Highway in said municipality.
Uy admitted during media interviews that they were supposed to receive P50,000 each for every transaction. They also admitted that they knew they were transporting contrabands, but did not know its worth.
The court ordered the proper disposal of the seized vehicles and remit the proceeds to the Dangerous Drugs Board.