Drive vs illegal drugs steps up in Manila

The campaign against illegal drugs in Manila is on full swing, with the arrest within the past five days alone of five men, including  two Chinese nationals, suspected of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

On Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, Manila Police District (MPD) Station 7 in Tondo caught three  men  selling  illegal drugs.

Follow-up

This was a  follow-up to the arrest  last week of seven suspected drug dealers conducted by the same station.

The station recently replaced  personnel of its Station Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Unit (SAID-SOTU) after reports surfaced that they were coddling drug suspects in the area.

Successive strikes

Nabbed by the MPD Station 7 SAID-SOTU on Sunday afternoon was Nicanor Mayores, 44, for possession of “shabu” or methamphetamine hydrochloride.

On Monday night, the police also arrested Ricardo Bognot, 44, and Ira Santiago, 28,  in a buy-bust operation on Pilar Street.

Bognot was caught trying to sell “shabu” to undercover narcotics operatives, while Santiago was apprehended for possession of the illegal substance.

All three are facing charges of violating the Dangerous Drugs Act, MPD Station 7 commander PSupt. Roderick

Mariano said.

“[These operations] will result in a drug-free zone within the area of our station,” Mariano said in a press statement.

Meanwhile, MPD Station 9 in Malate also scored a similar coup with the arrest of two Chinese drug dealers on Tuesday afternoon.

Caught red-handed

Chun-Na Tan, 50, and Chiok-A Li, 42, were arrested in a buy-bust operation along the service road in front of Aristocrat Restaurant in Roxas Boulevard.

The two  men were caught red-handed with a small sachet containing 50 grams of what is believed to be “shabu,” and the marked cash bundle from the police.

Market value

MPD Station 9 commander PSupt. Ernesto Tendero Jr. estimated the market value of the  recovered drugs to be  around P300,000.

The Chinese nationals are now detained  at  MPD Station 9.

They are facing charges for violating Section 5 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, or the “sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs.”