BACOLOD City – Suspected shabu worth around P27,000 were seized in two police-led antidrug operations in Negros Occidental.
Four people were arrested. They were:
* Mark Cadagat Cardiente, 49, of Burgos Street, Barangay 9, Kabankalan City
* Danilo Abacajan Mahinay, 46, of Barangay 5, San Carlos City
* Reynaldo Gutang Gonzaga, 39, pedicab driver, of Barangay Buluangan, San Carlos City
* Daisy Mae Vuelga Dairo, 18, of Barangay Guadalupe, San Carlos City
Police caught Cardiente, a “street-level target,” at the AHS Pension House in Barangay 9, Kabankalan City at around 10:45 p.m. Sunday.
Eight sachets of suspected shabu, drug paraphernalia, a Samsung cellphone, and P3,588 cash were seized from him, said Superintendent Jonel Guadalupe, Kabankalan City police head.
The seized substance had an estimated market value of P15,000, police said.
Detained at the Kabankalan City police station, Cardiente faces charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
On the same day in San Carlos City, Mahinay, Gonzaga and Dairo were caught in Barangay 5 at around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, said Superintendent D’Artagnan Katalbas Jr., San Carlos police head.
Officers seized from Mahinay seven sachets of suspected shabu, drug paraphernalia, a homemade shotgun locally called sulpak, and two live bullets for a 12-gauge shotgun.
Gonzaga and Dairo yielded a sachet of the same substance each.
Gonzaga, police disclosed, was a “high-value target” who had been arrested for a drug offense but released through plea bargaining.
Weighing about a gram, the seized substance had an estimated market value of P12,000, police said.
All three face charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 but Mahinay faces an additional charge for violation of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
They were all detained at the San Carlos City police station’s custodial facility./PN
