P122K worth of shabu seized in Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur

CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO, La Union — In their relentless campaign against illegal drugs in the region, police forces from Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan seized a total of P122,604 worth of suspected shabu in separate buy-bust operations yesterday.

Col. Benigno Sumawang, regional public information officer, reported that at around 4:27 p.m. of 29 April, personnel from the Vigan City Police Station, Provincial Intelligence Unit, Ilocos Sur Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in coordination with PDEA RO1, conducted a drug sting against a 36-year-old street-level individual and resident of Vigan City.

The operation resulted in the recovery of 7.86 grams of shabu with an estimated street value of P53,448 contained in four heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets, which were considered as evidence for the buy-bust operation and possession.

On the same day at around 10:30 a.m., the Bayambang Police Station responded to a report from a concerned citizen about a male individual allegedly concealing a firearm in his belt bag.

The police dispatched personnel in coordination with barangay officials to verify the report. They saw a suspicious male person who fit the given description and confronted him with the assistance of the barangay officials.

The police requested his identification, and as the suspect opened his bag to get it, the personnel noticed a heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing a white crystalline substance suspected of being illegal inside. The police seized the bag and arrested the suspect.

The responding police confiscated 10.17 grams of suspected shabu with a Standard Drug Price of P69,156. The shabu was contained in two heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets, which were considered evidence of the operation.

The inventory and markings of pieces of evidence of the two operations were meticulously conducted on-site, in strict adherence to the law, and in the presence of the mandatory witnesses and the suspects, further ensuring the transparency and integrity of the operations.