5 alleged big-time drug pushers fall in Lucena buy-busts

LUCENA CITY – Five alleged big-time drug pushers were arrested in separate buy-bust operations in Lucena City on Tuesday and Wednesday, police said.

Supt. Romulo Albacea, Lucena police chief, said the series of operations under the police anti-criminality campaign dubbed “Oplan Salikop” seized a total of 49.36 grams of shabu (crystal meth) with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P91,000.

The confiscated shabu was worth P246,800 in the street market at P5,000 per gram.

Anti-illegal drugs operatives collared Rimar Himor after he sold shabu to an undercover police officer in Barangay Marketview around 12:10 a.m. Wednesday.

Himor had 13 plastic sachets of shabu containing a total of 29.31 grams.

In another operation, authorities also arrested three notorious shabu peddlers Melody Cabangon, Allan De Los Santos Jr., and Wilmer Franco in Barangay Ilayang Iyam around 1:55 a.m.

Police seized six sachets of shabu weighing 13.71 grams.

On Tuesday, drug-enforcement unit busted Gerald Pedernal in Barangay 8 around 8:30 p.m.

The suspect yielded five sachets of shabu containing 6.34 grams.

Police tagged the arrested suspects as identified big-time peddlers of shabu in their respective villages.

“They even supply shabu to small time street level pushers in their areas,” a police agent said.

Albacea said the success of their anti-illegal drug campaign to get rid of remaining local drug peddlers were attributed to the active cooperation of concerned citizens.

He said the local police station has been continuously receiving valuable information about illegal activities in different parts of the city through their phone hotlines and “Project Bluebox.”

The box-shaped receptacles were fixtures in every barangay, shopping malls and strategic areas around the city. /je