BY JEN BAYLON
ILOILO – Combined elements of the Estancia municipal police and the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) confiscated shabu valued at over P10 million in Barangay Tacbuyan, Estancia on Saturday, Sept. 30.
This successful buy-bust operation also resulted in the arrest of two suspects.
Renato Gallardo, 43, of Barangay Sauyo, Novaliches, Quezon City is a high-value target, police said.
His driver, Lawrence Plasencia, 22, from Barangay Gogo, Estancia, was also apprehended.
The police had been closely monitoring the pair for the past four months.
During the operation at approximately 6:10 a.m., 38 sachets of suspected shabu were recovered, collectively weighing 1.6 kilos and priced at approximately P10,880,000.
Major Rolando Araño, spokesperson for the IPPO, said Gallardo has been a principal drug supplier to Panay Island.
“Amo ni siya ang nagadala sang illegal nga druga halin sa Metro Manila. May ara siya nga ginahulogan dira sa siyudad sang Iloilo, probinsiya sang Capiz, particularly sa siyudad sang Roxas, tapos dira sa Northern Iloilo sa Estancia,” added Araño.
Corroborating Araño’s statement, IPPO director Colonel Ronaldo Palomo added that the suspects primarily utilized roll-on-roll-off buses for drug transportation.
Both Gallardo and Plasencia will face legal action under Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002)./PN
