Alleged Lucena top drug pusher falls

LUCENA CITY, Quezon – An alleged major drug pusher in a village in Lucena City was arrested on Sunday, police said Monday.

Senior Supt. Rhoderick Armamento, Quezon police provincial director, said Jonas Maravilla, was caught by police drug enforcement unit in a buy-bust operation in Barangay (village) Cotta shortly before midnight.

Sixteen small plastic sachets of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) weighing 5.33 grams worth P9,860 in the illegal drug market were confiscated from the suspect who was tagged by police as one of top drug pushers in the village. Police also said Maravilla even supplied the stuff to other small-time pushers.

In Calauag town, Poice Chief Insp. Reynaldo Reyes, armed with a search warrant, led his men in a raid in the house of target Marilyn Mangantang in Barangay Sta. Maria around 11:30 p.m. but did not find the suspect.

But during the search which was witnessed by village officials and a niece of the suspect, the police found 12 sachets of shabu weighing 6.22 grams with an estimated street value of P11,507./rga