ROXAS City – Five people were arrested when Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents raided what they identified as a drug den in Barangay Banica.
But the operatives failed to catch their target – Tony Dela Cruz. The PDEA said Dela Cruz is a suspected drug den maintainer and drug trader.
They instead caught in a “pot session” Dela Cruz’s nephews Mark, 21, John Michael, 32, and Olime, 35, and Richard Manalon, 29, all of Roxas City, and Robert Barredo of Barangay Linateran, Panay, Capiz.
Twenty sachets of suspected shabu weighing 15 grams worth an estimated P180,000 (street value), drug paraphernalia, two mobile phones, and P540 cash were seized from them at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The PDEA said Dela Cruz was not around during the raid.
Citing intelligence information, the government agents identified Dela Cruz and nephew Olime as the ones maintaining the drug den – Dela Cruz’s house.
“We believe they are among drug trafficking groups operating in the city,” said PDEA regional director Wardley Getalla.
PDEA operatives have been monitoring the suspects for weeks, Getalla added.
Mark denied knowing Manalon and Barredo.
“Ginpasulod lang namon sila kay dumdum namon sila ang maihaw sang baboy sa amon okasyon subong nga adlaw,” Mark said in a radio interview.
Mark added that he and his cousins are willing to take a drug test to prove their innocence.
A PDEA officer in Capiz, Ramir Batuigas, said they placed Dela Cruz’s house under surveillance after receiving information that it was being used as a drug den.
All the arrested suspects were taken to Iloilo City for a drug test and placed in the custody of the PDEA Region 6.
They face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (With Ruby Silubrico/PN)
