2 men nabbed in Pasig with P1-M cocaine

MANILA, Philippines—The police arrested two men who reportedly sell drugs to the young and rich at the parking lot of City Golf Plaza on Julio Vargas Avenue in Pasig City on Tuesday night.

Seized from Lorenzo David Layug and and Renz Henry Sayarot were P1 million worth of cocaine and several sachets of marijuana.

Senior Supt. Jessie Cardona, Pasig police chief, said Layug was a resident of San Lorenzo Village in Makati City. Sayarot, on the other hand, was a permanent US resident based on documents found in his possession.

The two were arrested during a joint operation conducted by members of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) and the Pasig police.

They yielded 216 grams of a white powdery substance which later tested positive for cocaine, two sachets containing dried marijuana leaves, several tablets and a 9 mm pistol.

Lawyer Roque Merdeguia of the AIDSOTF said in a phone interview that the two men were placed on surveillance before the operation.

“We acted on a tip from an informant who said the two were selling cocaine in Metrowalk and City Golf in Pasig City and were targeting the young and rich,” Merdeguia said.

According to him, the antinarcotics operatives monitored the two men’s movements for some time to verify the information and to build a case against them.

On Tuesday, a policeman posed as a buyer and asked the two to sell him P100,000 worth of cocaine.

A meeting was set up at the golf club parking area. After the transaction was completed, a police team arrested the two men and searched their car.

Found inside the vehicle was a black box which contained the cocaine valued at P1 million, Merdeguia said.

He added that both men face charges of violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.