3 suspected drug pushers held in Lucena

LUCENA CITY – Police arrested three suspected notorious drug pushers in two separate buy-bust operations here on Thursday, police said.

Anti-illegal drugs operatives arrested Mareluz Cañesa, 50, and Jeffrey Kennedy Rosales, 26, after they sold “shabu” (crystal meth) to an undercover police officer acting as a drug user in a transaction in Barangay (village) Mayao Crossing around 6:05 p.m., Supt. Reydante Ariza, Lucena police chief, said in a report.

The suspects yielded 18 sachets of shabu weighing a total of 7.7 grams worth P34,650 in the street market at P4,500 per gram. The suspects were tagged as major shabu suppliers in the village.

Earlier, authorities also collared Elquezon Arellano, 39, in Barangay Market View in the morning.

Police seized five sachets of shabu weighing 8.7 grams worth P39,150 in the street market.

The suspects’ illegal activities were tipped off to the authorities through the “Project Blue Box,” receptacles found in every barangay, shopping mall, and other strategic areas around the city, and police hotlines./lzb