LUCENA CITY –– Police arrested two suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) peddlers here Saturday morning, one of them a beneficiary of government cash aid for those who lost sources of income because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown.
Lieutenant Colonel Romulo Albacea, Lucena police chief, reported that anti-narcotic agents caught Arnel Transporte, 23, after he sold a pack of meth to an undercover police officer in a transaction in Barangay Dalahican at 6:10 a.m.
Authorities seized nine plastic sachets of shabu with an estimated street value of P49,900.
Police tagged Transporte as a former drug convict and was still included in the active list of drug pushers in the city. He was also reported to be on the list of beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program designed to help daily wage earners and the poor survive lockdowns imposed to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
In another operation, police also busted Dionisio Saliva Jr., 43, in Barangay Ibabang Iyam around 8:30 a.m.
The suspect yielded 11 plastic sachets of meth worth P31,000 in the street market.
LZB