8 fall in drug ops across the metro

CEBU, Philippines - At least eight persons, one of them a "Tokhang" surrenderer, fell into the hands of the police in separate anti-illegal drug operations across Metro Cebu the past two days.

In Cebu City, a monitoring and validation operation under Oplan Tokhang (Toktok-Hangyo) on Thursday at Sitio Abellana in Barangay Luz led to the arrest of a certain Jeffrey Dela Rama Alvarez, 29, of Barangay Talamban.

Police and barangay officials were supposed to visit the house of a certain Arnold Gelig for the monitoring operation. Upon arriving at the house which was reportedly left open, they caught Gelig together with two unidentified persons repacking suspected shabu in plain view.

The suspects scampered into a nearby study center while police seized .38 caliber revolver without serial number, two small transparent packs containing shabu, lighters, and empty sachets in the house of Gelig.

A security guard detailed at the study center reportedly saw the three suspects getting inside the facility, which prompted him to go after them, but they ran away leaving Alvarez.

After noticing that Alvarez tried to attack him, the guard fired a warning shot to the ground but the bullet allegedly ricocheted, accidentally hitting Alvarez.

Alvarez is recuperating at a hospital in Cebu City.The police conducted a body frisk on him and recovered from his possession two transparent packs containing shabu.

The guard was also arrested for alleged frustrated homicide.

Four hours later, another three persons were arrested during a saturation drive at Sitio Mahayahay in Barangay Calamba.

The suspects, identified as Ellan Mirabiles, 32; Virgil Ancajas, 29; and Ela Mirabilez, 30, were reportedly spotted in the act of preparing shabu paraphernalia. Items confiscated were disposable lighter, tin foil, and paper wicks.

Past 7 p.m. of the same day, police also arrested JovyBarrientos, 30, resident of Saint Jude Street in Barangay Hipodromo. He was allegedly caught in possession of drug paraphernalia for sniffing shabu.

Yesterday dawn, police caught a certain Bogart Villamor, 39, resident of the same barangay in possession of drug paraphernalia at Sitio Mabapo in Barangay Basak San Nicolas.

In Minglanilla town, an alleged drug pusher was also cornered by police after trying to escape from a buy-bust operation at Sitio Ihawan Bag-o, Barangay Lower Calajoan on Thursday evening.

The suspect was identified as Nestor Villafuerte a.k.a. "Nestor Kimay", 61, a resident of corner Estaca, Barangay Tunghaan of the same town.

Senior Police Officer 2 Oliver Dacua said Villafuerte tried to escape using a motorcycle after noticing he was transacting with police operatives. He was, however, cornered immediately.

Back in Cebu City, authorities arrested yesterday afternoon a certain Walter Gimeno Abatayo, 45, a Tokhang surrenderer who was found still engaged in the illegal drug trade after a close monitoring in Sitio Tabucanal, Barangay Poblacion Pardo.

In addition to the buy-bust money, Abatayo also yielded eight small sachets and one medium pack of suspected shabu.

Police Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, acting Cebu City Police Office director, said one of the problems confronting drug surrenderers after Tokhang is their reintegration back into the society.

Doria said that based on the records, most surrenderers are from indigent families who can't afford rehabilitation, that's why the police are also working with the local government units to come up with possible programs for them. (FREEMAN)