NBI: Nabbed couple ran Pasig City drug den

The National Bureau of Investigation has arrested a couple who allegedly were able to operate a drug den in Pasig City for the last five years.

In a press briefing on Friday, NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin presented Marcos Castañeda Jr. and his pregnant wife Alma following their arrest on Thursday night at their home on Lindayag corner Diaz streets, Barangay Pineda.

NBI agents found eight sachets of “shabu” and drug paraphernalia when they raided the house on a search warrant issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Reynaldo Alhambra.

Joel Tovera, head of the NBI’s anti-illegal drugs division, said a two-month surveillance operation produced video clips of the house being used as a drug den by the couple’s buyers “who came from all walks of life.”

The couple’s six children were “exposed” to their parents’ illegal activities, Tovera noted. But when allowed to talk to reporters, the Castañedas said they only used drugs but didn’t sell any.

Alma, who is seven months pregnant, admitted taking shabu even with a child in her womb, saying “my body has been used to it. It’s like medicine which gives me relief.”