Four people were arrested in separate buy-bust operations across Ilocos Sur on 17 August, with police recovering more than eight grams of suspected shabu, according to the Ilocos Sur Police Provincial Office.

The operations were conducted in Sta. Cruz, Santiago, Candon City and Vigan City, with local police units coordinating with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Region 1.

The largest seizure was reported in Santiago, where police arrested a farmer and hog raiser identified as a high-value individual during an operation conducted from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Police recovered 5.1 grams of suspected shabu, which authorities valued at P34,680. The drugs were contained in four heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets.

Also recovered were a genuine P1,000 buy-bust bill, 10 machine-copy P1,000 bills used as boodle money, a black pouch and a Honda TMX 125 motorcycle.

In Sta. Cruz, a 47-year-old laundry worker from Sta. Lucia was arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Police seized 1.11 grams of suspected shabu valued at P7,548, contained in two heat-sealed sachets. One was identified as the buy-bust item while the other was recovered as suspected possession.

A genuine P500 buy-bust bill and a machine-copy P1,000 bill were also recovered, along with a red-and-black Euro motorcycle with sidecar, wallet, cellphone and other personal belongings.

In Vigan City, police arrested a 40-year-old construction worker during a buy-bust operation at about 8:30 p.m.

The operation yielded 0.7 gram of suspected shabu valued at P4,760, contained in a zip-lock bag and a small heat-sealed sachet.

Police also recovered a genuine P1,000 buy-bust bill, P300 and P500 in personal cash, a wallet and a lighter.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old construction worker from Banayoyo was arrested in Candon City after police recovered 0.54 gram of suspected shabu during an operation conducted from 6 p.m. to 8:20 p.m.

The suspected drug was contained in a heat-sealed transparent sachet. Police also recovered three genuine P1,000 buy-bust bills and a red-and-black Euro motorcycle without an attached plate and key.

Police said the evidence seized during the operations was inventoried and marked at the respective sites in the presence of the suspects and mandatory witnesses, as required by law.