2 held, P2-M drugs seized in BGC condo raid

A former beauty pageant contestant and a suspected drug supplier were arrested in a raid on a condominium unit at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig on Friday night.

Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) arrested Maria Sofia Gloria Mustonen and Joseph Bayquen Jr., alias Noonie, at the latter’s unit in a condo along McKinley Parkway around 9:30 p.m.

PDEA’s National Capital Region office earlier secured a warrant to search the unit, where the agents found 200 grams of suspected “shabu,” 50 grams of cocaine, and 163 pieces of ecstasy tablets, the agency said.

The seized drugs, which were concealed in eyeglass cases and canisters, had an estimated street value of P2 million, according to Ricardo Quinto, PDEA deputy director general for operations.

Two pistols—a .45-caliber Colt and a .22-caliber Llama—were also found in the condo unit, Quinto said.

Rogelio Daculla, who led the PDEA-NCR operation, alleged that Bayquen had been supplying drugs to buyers he would meet at high-end bars and among call center agents in BGC.

In a TV interview, Bayquen denied being a drug pusher but admitted being a user.

Mustonen, who joined the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 2013, maintained her innocence, saying she had never used drugs and was just on her way out of Bayquen’s condo unit when the PDEA agents arrived.—DEXTER CABALZA