Radio broadcaster arrested for allegedly selling ‘shabu’

PNP Deputy Director General Arturo Cacdac. Photo from https://www,pnp.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines – Instead of helping promote the government’s anti-drug campaign, a radio commentator chose to do the opposite – allegedly selling suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” in Sorsogon, a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official said Thursday.

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac Jr. said the Felicito “Lito” Lazaro, 62, a radio commentator and resident of Bagong Silang, Masbate City, was arrested by anti-narcotics agents after he was caught in the act selling shabu to an undercover agent along Barangay (village) Binanuahan in Pilar, Sorsogon last Tuesday.

Cacdac said a “big-sized” plastic sachet containing 4.5 grams of shabu was recovered from Lazaro, said to have been among PDEA’s radar for quite some time for being among the “major drug suppliers in the area.”

“His [Lazaro] arrest dealt a crippling blow to the local drug industry in the provinces of Masbate and Sorsogon,” Cacdac said.

Lazaro is now facing charges for violation of Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. He is presently detained at the PDEA RO5 jail facility in Legazpi City.