2-day antidrug sting nets P7.4-M ‘shabu’

Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan (extreme left), regional police director, presents the three drug suspects arrested in two successive operations in Pavia, Iloilo and Arevalo, Iloilo City on Feb. 2 and 3 resulting to the recovery of P7.4-milllion worth of shabu. The suspects are Lalaine Ereño, Jennifer Nosotros and John Rey Nosotros. Also in photo is Iloilo Police Provincial Office director, Police Colonel Roland Vilela. IAN PAUL CORDERO/PN
Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan (extreme left), regional police director, presents the three drug suspects arrested in two successive operations in Pavia, Iloilo and Arevalo, Iloilo City on Feb. 2 and 3 resulting to the recovery of P7.4-milllion worth of shabu. The suspects are Lalaine Ereño, Jennifer Nosotros and John Rey Nosotros. Also in photo is Iloilo Police Provincial Office director, Police Colonel Roland Vilela. IAN PAUL CORDERO/PN

ILOILO City – Two days of successive antidrug operations resulted to the confiscation of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) with a combined value of P7.4 million.

The 56-year-old Lalaine Ereño was busted yesterday at around 1 a.m. in Barangay Calaparan, Arevalo district.  She yielded suspected shabu with an estimated street value of P1 million.

Ereño was arrested after selling to an undercover police officer shabu for P20,500.

Her arrest was effected less than eight hours after her two companions were caught at around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia, Iloilo.

The two persons were Jennifer Nosotros, 42, and her 20-year-old son John Rey of Barangay Buntatala, Jaro district. Police recovered from them 420 grams of shabu valued at P6.4 million.

According to Police Major Jojo Tabaloc, Pavia police chief, a follow-up operation on Ereño was conducted after the younger Nosotros spilled the beans on their companion.

“We immediately planned an entrapment. We were able to recover from Ereño 15 big sachets of shabu,” said Tabaloc.

Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director, Police Colonel Roland Vilela said the Nosotroses and Ereño were shabu distributors in Iloilo province and city, and Bacolod City  and Negros Occidental.

They sourced shabu from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila through detained drug convict Jovan Abantao, Jennifer’s younger brother. 

This “Abantao drug group” had been operating since  2016, said Vilela, and the Nosotroses and Ereño were classified as high-value targets.

“Ang nakuha natin ngayong operation was part of their second delivery in January this year. May two kilos silang dala, ang isang kilo ibinagsak sa Bacolod Cityand isang kilo dito sa Iloilo para sa Dinagyang Festival at Jaro fiesta. The illegal drugs were delivered via roll on, roll-off (roro),” said Vilela.

The first delivery, he said, was done on October 2019; it was more than a kilo, said Vilela.

The delivery scheme was elaborate, according to the IPPO director.

After sealing the transaction at the New Bilibid Prison, shabu would be sent to Iloilo via roro.

Somebody would pick up the contraband at the seaport then deliver this to the Nosotroses and Ereño. Only then would the three pay for the contraband via money transfer/remittance services.

“Hindi kilala ng mga suspects kung sino nagbigay sa kanila ng illegal drugs. May communication lang sa kanila from Abantao kung saan nila kukunin ang item na pinadala,” said Vilela.

According to Vilela, the younger Nosotros would repack the shabu for downloading to street pushers.

“The mother was doing the delivery while payment was coursed through the son. Iba ang receiver of payment and iba naman ang mag-re-release ng contraband,” said Vilela.

Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, regional police director, congratulated Vilela and Tabaloc for a job well done.

“Imagine kung naibenta ito, maraming buhay  ang masisira, ilang youngters ang mababaliw. We are happy to save lives,” Pamuspusan said.

This 2020 the Philippine National Police in Western Visayas aims to get the 105 remaining high-value drug targets it failed to neutralize in 2019.

Of the 105 drug targets, 50 are in Negros Occidental, 32 in Bacolod City, 11 in Iloilo province, four in Capiz, three each in Antique and Iloilo City, and one each in Guimaras and in Aklan./PN

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