QC drainage digging unearths ‘shabu’ worth P40 million

BURIED ‘TREASURE’ The packs of “shabu” (crystal meth) dug up on Thursday are presented to QCPD director Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel. —Photos courtesy of QCPD

Like buried treasure, it can instantly turn its finder into a multimillionaire.

Except that the underground trove consisted of about 6 kilos of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth), which authorities estimated to be worth P40.8 million if sold in the streets.

Police said a refrigerator repair shop employee unearthed the stash by chance on Thursday morning while digging along the roadside for a drainage project at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and  Fleur de Lis Street, near  Geneva Gardens Subdivision in Quezon City.

Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel, Quezon City Police District director, said the drugs were found packed in plastic bags and buried in front of Dancs Service Center, a refrigerator repair shop.

The shop owner, identified as Danilo Sibug, reported the discovery to Barangay North Fairview chair Manuel Chua, who then alerted the police.

Supt. Benjamin Gabriel Jr., Fairview police station commander, said that Sibug, who had been living in the area for over 10 years, asked one of his employees to construct a drainage in front of the shop to prevent flooding.

When the hole was around a meter deep, the worker found a plastic bag containing 10 more bags filled with a white substance.

Gabriel said they were still waiting for the results of laboratory tests to confirm if what was found was indeed shabu.

He added that the bags might have been buried for some time because these looked old.

Investigators said this was the first time that someone had tried to install a drainage system in front of the shop.

They were also reviewing security camera videos from the area for leads on who hid the drugs underground.  —JODEE A. AGONCILLO