‘Notorious’ drug pusher falls in Lucena buy-bust 

LUCENA CITY – Police arrested a notorious peddler of shabu (crystal meth) in a buy-bust operation in Lucena City on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Drug enforcement unit from Quezon police office and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives arrested Eric Basit, 35, after he sold shabu to an undercover policeman in a transaction in Barangay Ilayang Iyam around 3:10 p.m., Sr. Supt. Osmundo de Guzman, Quezon police director, said in a report.

The suspect yielded 13 plastic sachets of shabu, estimated to weigh 27.25 grams and likely valued at around P50,000 based on Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) evaluation.

The seized drugs were worth P136,250 in the street market at the current price of P5,000 a gram.

Concerned citizens and rehabilitated drug users tipped off the police on the illegal activities of Basit, who is one of the few remaining pushers of shabu in the city, police said.

The suspect is still under investigation to determine the source of his illegal merchandise. /kga