2 students yield P1.5M worth of party drugs

BIG HAUL Director Guillermo Eleazar, NCRPO chief, inspects the party drugs found in the condominium of a student in Makati City on Monday. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

A courier’s suspicions proved to be correct, leading to the arrest of two students and the seizure of P1.5 million worth of party drugs in the condominium of one of the suspects in Makati City on Monday morning.

Director Guillermo Eleazar, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, identified the suspects as Adriel Ryoichi Temporosa Suzuki, 24, and Ralph Jeffrey Tulio Esteban, 23.

Suzuki was a student at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde while Esteban was studying at De La Salle University.

Their arrest stemmed from the suspicions of a courier whom Suzuki had hired to deliver a box of cigarettes to an address at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

When the courier picked up the package from Suzuki’s condominium unit in Makati City, he asked the suspect repeatedly about the contents of the box.

“Suzuki refused to tell the driver,” Eleazar said.

Afraid that the box might contain drugs, the courier went to the nearest police precinct. From there, the policemen took him to the Makati City police station to check the contents of the box.

“When they found out [it contained] ecstasy tablets, the [policemen] launched a follow-up operation,” Eleazar said.

At 11 a.m., the police raided Suzuki’s unit and found around 1,000 tablets — believed to be party drugs — scattered all around the place.

As the policemen were doing an inventory, Suzuki received a text message from Esteban.

“The text message said Esteban would like to deliver another batch of party drugs to Suzuki,” Eleazar said.

After reading Esteban’s text message, the policemen set up an entrapment operation, resulting in his arrest.

Eleazar commended the courier and encouraged others to be just as vigilant. “If you think the parcel or package is suspicious, do not hesitate to go to the police,” he said.