ILOILO City – A top drug suspect in Western Visayas was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Tanza Timawa, City Proper.
Antonio Romero, 45, was No. 1 in the list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 6.
Suspected shabu weighing about 115 grams and valued at around P800,000 was confiscated from him.
At around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, Romero was collared by the Police Regional Office 6’s (PRO-6) Regional Drug Enforcement Unit after dealing with an undercover operative for P50,000 worth of suspected shabu.
He was placed under surveillance for a month prior to Tuesday’s entrapment, according to PRO-6 spokesperson, Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong.
Operatives were still determining the suspect’s source of the prohibited substance, said Malong.
However, Romero denied owning the suspected illegal drugs, claiming he was having a drinking session when the police suddenly arrested him.
Romero was detained at the lockup cell of the Molo police station.
Tuesday’s seizure was so far the biggest in Iloilo City this year.
In Iloilo province, an estimated P8 million worth of shabu was seized from Mary Joy Villarina, 30, of Barangay Pandac, Pavia, Iloilo in a buy-bust operation on Jan. 5, in Barangay San Antonio, Oton, Iloilo./PN
