P17 million worth of ecstasy tablets seized in Pampanga

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines — At least 10,000 tablets of party drug ecstasy worth P17 million were seized from five suspected dealers in a gas station in Lubao town, Pampanga province, on Saturday night.

The contraband and the suspects were cornered in what was called a “controlled delivery operation,” in which two parcels were tracked down, said Christian Frivaldo, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director in Central Luzon.

The Bureau of Customs Port of Clark and the PDEA traced the two parcels, which arrived on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, to Joshua Bautista and Charmaine Valencia Bacani, the PDEA said on Sunday.

The police Regional Drug Enforcement Unit arrested Bautista, 20; William Valencia, 41; Raphy Quiboloy, 30; Patrick Bagang, 35; and Bacani, 36, whose real name was Katrina Legaspi.

They are residents of Barangay Maquiapo in Guagua town and Barangay San Roque 1st in Lubao.

—Tonette Orejas