A 31-year-old man tagged by authorities as a high-value individual (HVI) in the illegal drug trade was arrested in a joint buy-bust operation in Barangay Sto. Niño here on Monday (Aug. 24).
The suspect was arrested after an undercover policeman purchased a heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing a white crystalline substance believed to be shabu (crystal meth) .
A subsequent search yielded three more sachets containing suspected shabu, bringing the total estimated weight of the seized substance to about 2 grams, with an estimated street value of P13,600.
Authorities also recovered the P1,000 buy-bust money used in the operation.
The drug evidence was turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Regional Office in MIMAROPA for laboratory examination.
The suspect remains in police custody and is expected to face charges for alleged violations of Sections 5 (sale of dangerous drugs) and 11 (possession of dangerous drugs), Article II of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The operation was conducted by personnel of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit-Drug Enforcement Group (RDEU-DEG), led by PLt. Col. Francis Aldrich D. Garcia, chief of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit, in coordination with the Calapan City Police Station