By AARON RECUENCO
Authorities were proven right when they sensed something fishy was going on with a man selling fish in a tourist spot in Oriental Mindoro.
Local police eventually discovered that a 55-year-old man was selling fish stuffed with shabu that led to his arrest in Barangay Sabang, Puerto Galera.
Chief Insp. Imelda Tolentino, spokesperson of the Mindoro Occidental and Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan (MIAMROPA) regional police, identified the suspect as Bonifacio Baticos de Villa who was collared in a buy-bust mapped out by local anti-illegal drugs unit.
“Based on the intelligence report, he was selling shabu under the guise of selling fish. When he was arrested, four sachets of shabu were seized from him,” said Tolentino. “The modus is that he would put the sachet of shabu inside the big fishand sell it to his drug clients to avoid detection of the police.”
De Villa is from Barangay Sta. Clara in Batangas City and has been selling fish in Puerto Galera, a popular tourist destination in Oriental Mindoro.
It was recalled that anti-drugs cops have been monitoring the illegal drugs sale in some popular tourist destinations since some tourists are said to be using illegal drugs during parties.
De Villa’s arrest came after a police asset confirmed that he was indeed selling shabu.
Seized from him during the operation was a marked P1,000 bill.
Local police are now conducting investigation to identify the source of drugs being sold by de Villa.