Baguio drug pusher gets life

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — A drug dealer who operated in this city has been sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of up to P1 million.

Gregory Quela, 37, was arrested in a sting on Nov. 27 last year after selling 1.97 grams of shabu worth P12,000 to undercover agents along Siapno Road.

“In the crime of illegal sale of dangerous drugs, the delivery of the illicit drug to the poseur-buyer and the receipt by the seller of the marked money consummate the illegal transaction. What matters is the proof that the transaction or sale actually took place, coupled with the presentation in court of the prohibited drug, the corpus delicti, as evidence,” Regional Trial Court Branch 61 Judge Lilybeth Sindayen-Libiran said in a decision promulgated on Monday.

The court said Quela’s illegal drug trade was confirmed when he twice sold shabu to undercover agents prior to his arrest.

National Bureau of Investigation-Cordillera director Hector Geologo hailed the court’s ruling as yet another victory in the government’s war against illegal drugs.