BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
ILOILO City – A mother and her son were arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted by the City Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Group and Molo police station in Brgy. Calumpang, Molo district.
Ryan Abilo, 20, tried to run away when policemen arrested him after selling a sachet of shabu to a poseur buyer around 7 p.m. on Monday.
His 45-year-old mother, Cecilia, on the other hand, did not resist the arresting policemen.
The suspects have long been under surveillance, according to the police.
The two were described as “high-value targets.”
If the police were to be believed, the Abilos operated not only in Brgy. Calumpang but in adjacent barangays, too, and even as far as the 1st District of Iloilo province composed of the tows of Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Igbaras, Tubungan, Miag-ao and San Joaquin.
Policemen recovered from the suspects 19 plastic sachets of shabu with an estimated total street value of P90,000.
Mother and son were taken to the Molo police station.
Yesterday, seven more suspected drug personalities were arrested, this time by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents in Brgy. Bakhaw, Mandurriao district.
The suspects were Vivian Alagaran and sister Lindy Zaragoza, Ronaldo Pedrosa, Jomar Enog, John Franco, Rey Maderse and Elton John Perez.
According to PDEA regional director Paul Ledesma, the buy-bust operation that originally targeted Alagaran was staged around 12:30 a.m.
They arrested four more inside the house of Zaragoza which was adjacent to Alagaran’s.
Ledesma said Zaragoza’s house was a drug den.
PDEA agents recovered four big plastic sachets of shabu from Alagaran with an estimated total street value of P20,000.
“Alagaran sells the drugs; the buyers consume them at Zaragoza’s house. That is their modus operandi,” Ledesma said.
Alagaran faces a charge for violation of Article II, Section 5 (selling illegal drugs) of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, while Pedrosa will be charged with violating Section 26 (conspring in selling illegal drugs).
On the other hand, Zaragoza faces a charge for violation of Section 6 (maintaining a drug den).
The four others would be charged with visiting a drug den.
Meanwhile, Ledesma said 148 barangay captains, out of 180 in Iloilo City had already submitted the names of drug personalities in their respective barangays.
Bakhaw, Mandurriao barangay captain Remia Gregory, however, has yet to submit her list of drug personalities to PDEA.
Brgy. Bakhaw is a favorite source of shabu of pushers arrested in northern Iloilo, Ledesma said./PN
