At least five suspected drug traffickers were arrested on Wednesday in buy-bust operations in Laguna and Rizal provinces and yielded over P999,000 worth of ‘shabu’ (crystal meth) and an illegal firearm, the police said.
Col. Dennis de Guzman, Calamba City, Laguna police chief, said in a report that anti-illegal drugs operatives collared a suspected pusher identified as ‘Emil’ at 10:20 p.m. in Barangay Canluban after he sold P500 worth of shabu to an undercover police officer.
Seized from the suspect were five sealed plastic sachets containing suspected shabu weighing 70 grams. Based on the Dangerous Drugs Board’s standard price of P6,800 per gram, the seized drugs were valued at P476,000.
During a routine frisk, police also found Emil carrying an undocumented caliber .9mm pistol loaded with seven bullets.
Police identified Emil as a high-value individual (HVI) in the illegal drug trade.
HVI is classified as a financier, trafficker, manufacturer, importer of illegal drugs, or leader or member of drug syndicates.
In San Mateo, Rizal, policemen nabbed ‘Prince,’ ‘Mary,’ ‘Jonathan,’ and ‘John’ during a drug sting operation in Barangay Gulod Malaya at around 11:37 p.m., the Police Region 4A said in another report.
The suspects yielded 16 sachets of meth weighing a total of 77 grams worth P523,600, a digital weighing scale, and shabu sniffing paraphernalia.
The report tagged Prince and Mary as HVIs, while Jonathan and John are listed as street-level pushers.
Laguna and Rizal police are conducting further investigations to determine the source of the illegal drugs.
All suspects are under police custody and will face a formal complaint for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Emil will also face another case for illegal possession of a firearm.