Two Iranian men nabbed in drug bust

CEBU, Philippines - Two high value targets in the campaign against illegal drugs were busted yesterday in Dumaguete City  with the arrest of two Iranian nationals, one of whom is the suspected financier.

Arrested first in a buy-bust operation by joint elements of the Provincial Intelligence Branch, Provincial Special Operations Task Group---headed by Superintendent Crisaleo Tolentino---was 32-year-old Telman Nabavi, a native of Tehran, Iran, who was caught in possession of drugs in his rented room at Claytown in Barangay Daro.

Confiscated from Nabavi were five sachets of shabu---weighing about three grams and with an estimated value of P30,000---the P500 marked money, drug paraphernalia, a rolled paper with marijuana leaves, and P600 cash believed to be proceeds of his illegal activity.

Nabavi said he was given money by his friend, a certain "Joel," to buy shabu from Sitio Canday-ong at Barangay Calindagan yesterday morning.

He also claimed to be a former student of Silliman University and had been living here for more than two years, working in a friend's restaurant business at Barangay Piapi.

The second to be arrested yesterday morning was another high-value target, a 34-year-old Iranian-Filipino identified as Vazgen Intac George, alias Greg Kuzuri.

Members of the Dumaguete City Police, headed by Superintendent Jovito Atanacio, conducted a buy-bust operation at Barangay Daro against Kuzuri, who was on board a black Frontier vehicle at the time.

The suspect however managed to elude arrest and then engaged the policemen in a chase until they reached Dauin town, where a group of policemen put up a road block. Kuzuri was eventually arrested.

Recovered from his possession was a big bulto of shabu, and two small sachets containing shabu granules, the P500 marked money and his vehicle.

Atanacio said Kuzuri's name as a drug financier surfaced following the buy-bust operation and arrest of a certain Carlos Navarro several weeks ago in a hotel in Dumaguete. 

Both Kuzuri and Nabavi are in the watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and newly-identified drug personalities in Dumaguete City through the revelations made by one of their cohorts who was previously arrested.

Nabavi had earlier told reporters they're friends with Kuzuri.  (FREEMAN)