‘Big-time’ drug trafficker yields P1.6M worth of shabu in Lucena City
INQUIRER FILE
LUCENA CITY — Authorities arrested an alleged big-time drug trafficker and seized more than P1.6 million worth of shabu in a buy-bust operation Wednesday, April 23, in this Quezon province capital.
Anti-narcotics operatives led by Captain Benito Nevera, head of the local drug enforcement unit, arrested the suspect, identified by the alias “Onad,” 57, after he sold P1,000 worth of shabu to an undercover officer in Barangay Ibabang Dupay at around 2:30 p.m., Lucena police chief Lt. Col. Dennis de Guzman said in a report Thursday.
The suspect was allegedly found in possession of 14 heat-sealed plastic sachets containing a white crystalline substance believed to be shabu, weighing 80 grams.
Authorities said the seized drugs have a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P544,000. Based on the prevailing street price of P20,400 per gram, the shabu’s estimated street value is P1,632,400.
Police are continuing to investigate the source of the illegal drugs.
Onad is classified as a high-value individual (HVI) in the police drug watch list — a designation referring to financiers, traffickers, manufacturers, importers, or known members of drug syndicates.
The suspect is in police custody and is facing charges of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
