By ALEXANDRIA SAN JUAN
Police learned that drug dealers are now using dating applications to sell illegal substances after a 34-year-old nurse and his companion were arrested Wednesday for peddling shabu online in Quezon City.
Arrested during the buy-bust operation of Quezon City Police District’s Project 4 Police Station (PS-8) were Rowell Pagsolingan, a nurse and resident of Barangay Bagumbuhay; and his cohort Ralph Duran, 33, of Barangay Talipapa.
PS-8 chief Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bilaro said the arrest of the suspects stemmed from a report of an informant who revealed the two men’s illegal drug activity through a gay dating app.
According to Bilaro, the suspects, who both used fake accounts, and their customers were using jargon in their online conversation to meet for sex and illegal drugs.
An undercover police officer managed to chat and make a deal with Pagsolingan who agreed to meet him in front of his house at the corner of A. Luna Street and Datu Sumakwel Street around 11 p.m.
The police poseur-buyer purchased P1,000 worth of shabu from the two suspects, resulting in their arrest.
Police seized from the suspects two sachets of shabu weighing at least 4.05 grams with an estimated street value of P27,540.
The suspects, who are newly identified drug personalities in their respective barangays, will be charged with violation of the anti-drugs law, police said.
