Pilot nabbed in ‘shabu’ buy-bust operation

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)

MANILA, Philippines—For this pilot, there are other ways of getting high.

A 40-year-old commercial pilot was arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Taguig City after he was caught selling methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” to an undercover agent a week ago, the agency said Saturday.

Rioklyn P. Toledo, a local airline pilot and resident of Parañaque City, was caught red-handed selling two plastic sachets of shabu, weighing a little over 9 grams, to a PDEA agent posing as a buyer, the PDEA said.

In a statement, PDEA Director General Jose S. Gutierrez, Jr. said the entrapment operation occurred on July 14, at about 2 a.m., when Toledo agreed to a rendezvous with the PDEA agent at the corner of Rizal and 29th Streets.

At the pre-arranged signal, agents from the PDEA Regional Office National Capital Region under Director Wilkins M. Villanueva moved in to arrest the suspect, Gutierrez said.

The operatives seized a .45-cal. pistol and a Nissan Navarra from the suspect, who did not resist arrest, the official said.

“Mr. Toledo was reported to supply the needs of some of the pilots and some foreign tourists,” the PDEA said in the statement without providing details.

Toledo, who is temporarily detained at the PDEA jail facility in Quezon City, will face a charge of violating Section 5, or sale of dangerous drugs, under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.  If convicted, he will face life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million.