‘Drug lord’ nabbed; P1M shabu seized

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — A suspected drug lord and his son were arrested at Barangay Alijis of this city on Tuesday, after they yielded almost P1 million worth of shabu.

Police identified the suspects as William Chua, 60, a wanted top drug personality of the Police Regional Office-18 (Negros Island Region), and his son, Wesley Chua, 31.

Superintendent Maharlika Oscar Villasis, head of the Regional Special Operations Task Group (RSOTG), said joint police operatives conducted a raid at the Benares Compound where the Chuas sold a sachet of shabu to a poseur-buyer for P1,000.

Also arrested inside the compound were 12 persons who were holding a “pot session” inside a nipa hut. The Chua father-and-son and the other arrested suspects are now detained at City Police Station 7, facing drug charges.

The operation was conducted by joint operatives of RSOTG, the Special Action Force, Police Station 7, and Negros Occidental Police Public Safety Company.

After the drug buy-bust, operatives served on Chua the search warrant issued by Judge Manuel Cardinal Jr. of Regional Trial Court Branch 49 in Bacolod City.

Police recovered from Chua’s place 31 big plastic sachets of shabu, worth nearly P1 million, the P1,000 marked money, drug paraphernalia, cellular phones, and P12,300 cash.

Villasis said Chua was deemed a drug lord in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, and was placed under surveillance for almost three months before his arrest.

Earlier on Monday, two drug personalities in Negros Occidental were arrested by police operatives in separate buy-bust operations.

In Valladolid town, Helbert Lagos, 22, who is No. 2 in the town’s drugs watchlist, was arrested after police raided his house at Barangay Sagua Banwa, according to Chief Inspector Joemarie Occeño, town police chief.

In Escalante City, the police also collared the No. 7 drug personality, Carlos Obas Jr., 39, of Barangay Balintawak.   (FREEMAN)