Arrest of alleged drug trafficker in Batangas yields P3.8-M worth of shabu

INQUIRER file photo

LUCENA CITY — Law enforcers seized more than P3.8 million worth of shabu (crystal meth) from an alleged “high value” drug trafficker in Balayan town in Batangas province on Saturday, April 27.

Brigadier General Paul Kenneth Lucas, Police Region 4A director, in a report said “Darwin,” 27, was collared by combined units of local policemen and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agents after he allegedly sold P2,000 worth of shabu to a poseur buyer in Barangay (village) Santol at around 1:25 p.m.

The government operatives allegedly confiscated from Darwin 14 plastic sachets and five knot-tied plastics containing shabu weighing 563 grams worth more than P3,800,000 and a digital weighing scale.

Authorities also seized a mobile phone from the suspect which will be subjected to digital forensic examinations to check for records of drug transactions.

Police tagged the suspect, a resident of the village, as among the persons included in the police drug watch list as an “HVI” or high-value individual in the local drug trade.

Authorities are investigating the source of the drugs.

The suspect has been detained and is facing a formal complaint for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.