2 women yield P2.7-M ‘shabu’, kush in Cainta bust

Around P2.7 million worth of illegal drugs, including imported high-grade marijuana and “shabu” (crystal meth), were seized on Thursday from two women in a buy-bust operation in Cainta, Rizal province.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, Calabarzon police regional office director, identified the suspects as Laika Camille San Pedro, 25, a resident of Taguig City; and Maria Cecilia Baylon, 40, from Quezon City.

Chief Insp. Ferdinand Mendoza, head of the Calabarzon drug enforcement unit, said the two women were arrested at 12:45 a.m. on Thursday at the parking lot of a commercial complex in Barangay San Isidro.

Seized from them were around 250 grams of shabu with an estimated value of P1.2 million and a kilo of high-grade marijuana, commonly known as “kush,” worth around P1.5 million.

Intelligence reports said the suspects were able to “import” the drugs, using different names to mislead authorities.

According to Mendoza, the two women were reported to be bigtime drug suppliers in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Rizal and Laguna.

Investigation also showed that their husbands are currently detained at the Metro Manila District Jail in Bicutan, Taguig City.

Meanwhile, two men were arrested by the Marikina City police for possession of marijuana on Wednesday night.

An operation was launched against Irwin Joseph de Castro, 41, and Edgard Shane Benavidez, 22, based on a tip on their drug activities. They were entrapped at Benavidez’s home in SSS Village, Barangay Concepcion Dos after an undercover agent bought P500 worth of marijuana from the 22-year-old.

Four more sachets of marijuana and a digital weighing scale were seized from the suspects.