LUCENA CITY –– Police recovered on Tuesday morning at least P693,000 worth of shabu (crystal meth) thrown away by a suspected drug pusher who was arrested before midnight Monday.
Lt. Colonel Romulo Albacea, Lucena police chief, said Marco Pielago, 23, an alleged notorious drug pusher, was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Cotta around 11:45 p.m.
On Tuesday morning, anti-illegal drug operatives, assisted by village officials, returned to the site of operation and found six more plastic sachets of shabu weighing 125 grams around 8:45 a.m.
“We knew that the suspect was able to throw most of the stuff in a dimly lit area near a river. Our men returned and conducted further search this morning until they found the shabu,” Albacea said in a phone interview.
The recovered shabu is worth P693,750 in the street market at P5,550 per gram.
Pielago yielded 5.16 grams of shabu in two plastic sachets worth P28,638 when he was arrested.
Albacea said the arrest of Pielago would significantly reduce shabu supply in the said barangay and nearby areas.
He said reformed drug users and concerned citizens tipped off the police about the illegal activities of the suspect through the police “Oplan Magilas” campaign.
The local police have been actively pursuing its “Oplan Magilas,” a massive anti-criminality campaign to flush out the few remaining drug personalities in the city.