MANILA, Philippines – Quezon City policemen arrested Saturday night two men for allegedly selling to undercover policemen some P30 million worth of high-grade methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu at a street corner in Quezon City, during a buy-bust.
Arrested were Harold Wilford Padilla, 34; and Arnel Ignacio (not the TV personality and comedian), 49, both of Malabon City, who allegedly yielded a Glock .40 pistol and five kilograms of shabu from their vehicles.
“They (drug dealers) usually throw in the car as a bonus,” Senior Inspector Robert Razon, head of the Quezon City Police District anti-illegal drugs special operations task group (QCPD-AIDSOTG), told the Inquirer as he said the two were arrested after they sold to an undercover policeman a kilogram of shabu, throwing in a black Nissan Terrano in the deal.
Razon said that his group arrested Padilla and Ignacio at around 6:30 p.m., Saturday, at the corner of Banawe Avenue and Macopa Street, Barangay (village) Sto. Domingo in Sta. Mesa Heights, after a month’s surveillance.
Before the suspects’ arrest, Razon said, the undercover agent transacted with Padilla for the purchase of a kilogram of shabu and the suspect set the time and the place for their meeting.
At the designated meeting, Padilla turned over the sports utility vehicle (SUV) where the shabu was loaded to the undercover agent in exchange for P1.5 million cash. It was then that the QCPD-AIDSOTG announced the bust, recovering a pistol from Padilla.
The anti-drug operatives were also able to capture Ignacio, who was waiting nearby on his car for his companion Padilla. A search by policemen of Ignacio’s car yielded four kilograms of shabu inside a backpack.
Razon placed the value of seized methamphetamine hydrochloride at P30 million, based on the current street value of a kilogram of high-grade shabu at P6 million.
He said that neither of the suspects was in the city’s watch list of drug offenders so it was not clear how long the duo has been operating and told the Inquirer that they were only tipped off by an informant to Padilla’s alleged illegal activities, which they confirmed through surveillance.
Razon explained that drug dealers, who sell large quantities of shabu, usually also give the car to the buyer to avoid detection of the illegal trade. “So it would appear like a simple car transaction,” he said.
The QCPD-AIDSOTG head added that the suspects have opted to keep quiet on the source of the high-quality shabu they were caught with.
The suspects are detained at the QCPD-AIDSOTG holding cell, pending the filing of drug charges against them at the city prosecutor’s office.