FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The Quezon City Police District’s antidrug team seized P75-million worth of “shabu,” or methamphetamine hydrochloride, from three suspected drug dealers in an entrapment operation before dawn on Monday.
The multimillion-peso drug haul came just weeks after the same police unit seized P15 million worth of shabu from a Chinese national.
Members of the District Anti-Illegal Drugs (DAID) unit arrested the drug suspects at the corner of West Avenue and Examiner Street in Barangay (village) West Triangle, leading to the confiscation of 15 kilos of shabu.
The three were identified as Anthony Pineda, 32, and Grace Navalta, 32, both residents of Barangay San Agustin in Quezon City, and Jesselito Tabaquero, 39, from Olongapo City, according to a police report.
In an interview, QCPD-DAID head Senior Insp. Roberto Razon Sr. said the operation was a followup to the arrest of Zhen Zhi Xu on Aug. 8 in the Philcoa area.
Investigators said the four suspects belonged to the same drug syndicate.
“Their group, which we can’t identify yet, operate in cells. If one cell is low on stocks, they will get it from another cell. They borrow each other’s [stocks]. Or when they can’t handle all the orders, they pass it on to another cell,” Razon explained.
While the group’s supplier is still being tracked, Razon said they suspect that the drugs come from outside Metro Manila.
He added that Xu and the other suspects were found to be lugging around a huge stock of drugs—more than the quantity ordered by the undercover
police agent.
“Our order was for just two kilos but we discovered [in their car] another 13 packs of suspected shabu at one kilo each. It means that we weren’t their only deal for the day. It seemed there were other areas [where they had other deals]. We are trying to find out where,” Razon said, referring to Monday’s operation.
According to him, the estimated market price of a kilo of shabu was around P5 million.
When Xu was arrested at the Philcoa area earlier this month, police seized from him 10 kilos of drugs although the poseur-buyer had ordered just one kilo.
Xu’s case gained notoriety after Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista slapped him due to his cheeky behavior.–With Aries Hegina, INQUIRER.net
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