194 suspected criminals arrested in 4-day operation in Quezon

LUCENA CITY — A four-day simultaneous anti-criminality law enforcement operation (Sacleo) in Quezon province led to the arrests of 194 suspected criminals, police said Tuesday.

Colonel Joel Villanueva, Quezon police chief, reported that the synchronized operations in 39 towns and two cities from October 15 to 18 led to the arrests of 13 suspected drug pushers, and yielded 7.72 grams of shabu (crystal meth).

The police also collared 23 wanted criminals; 72 illegal gamblers; two with illegal firearms, which led to the seizure of two undocumented guns and voluntary surrender of six illegal firearms; 36 illegal fishers; and 15 illegal loggers.

Sacleo replaced the “one-time, big-time operation,” an all-out war of the police against all local forms of criminalities in a given period.

At least 8,143 persons were also accosted during the same period for violation of the quarantine and other safety and health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Villanueva also reported.

The violators were issued citation tickets, warned, made to render community service, reprimanded, and paid administrative fines for not wearing face masks, face shields, and not observing physical distancing.

The province still has 1,241 active COVID-19 infections as of October 18 down from 2,074 active cases on October 1.

EDV