P102 million drug haul

CEBU, Philippines —  At least 15 kilos of suspected shabu worth P102 million was seized from two drug couriers from Manila who traveled to Cebu allegedly to distribute the drugs in the Visayas.

The suspects, Eric Bacalso Felisilda, 46, from Tagbilaran City, Bohol and Neil James Vallesquina, 28, from Dasmariñas, Cavite were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City morning on June 25, 2022.

Their arrest was an offshoot of a previous operation that led to the arrest of one Eleanor Tagra Quistadio with four kilos of shabu worth P27.2 million on June 13.

“Kini nga operasyona, this is an offshoot sad sa mga previous nga dakop sad before. Follow-up operation ni siya,” said Col. Arnel Banzon, chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Police.

Police said Felisilda and Vallesquina are considered High-Value Individuals (HVI).

They travelled to Cebu from Manila by land using their own vehicle.

Areas of Distribution

Banzon said suspects allegedly were supposed to distribute the drugs in Regions 6, 7, and 8, and even Northern Mindanao.

“Nahug og dili lang Central Visayas, the whole Visayas area gyud siya. Six, seven and eight and, sometimes, apil pa gani ang Northern Mindanao kanang market nila,” Banzon said.

“So gikan dinhi, i-distribute nana sa mga provinces. Musakop nana ang mga gipang-mention nato nga mga region,” Banzon said.

The suspects allegedly sourced the drugs from Luzon.

“Luzon ni sila gikan. Gikan tanan didto unya mura’g lain-lain ang mukuha so, in general, ang source nila taas gyud gikan tanan,” Banzon said.

When seized by the police, the shabu was divided into 15 tea bags with Chinese characters before they were placed in a backpack, two sack bags, and a paper bag.

The suspects are facing charges in violation of R.A. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Incentive

Following the operation, Lapu-Lapu Mayor Junard Chan said he will give an incentive to the arresting agencies.

“Bag-ohay lang gipahigayon atoang gi-conduct nga meeting. We are giving incentive to the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) para sa maong nasikop karon kay dako ang kantidad,” Chan said.

“This is another incentive for the police every time dunay sila makuha nga dinagko. Mao na, dili ta magmakuli sa paghatag og incentive para nila. Even without the incentive, they are doing their job, grabe ilang pag sakripisyo sapagdakop niining illegal nga drugas,” Chan added.

Chan congratulated the LCPO for the drug operations.

“I would like to congratulate our Lapu-Lapu City Director, Colonel Arnel Banzon, and the rest of the team, from the City Intelligence Branch (CIB), Intelligence group, PDEA, Coast guard, joint effort ni siya tungod kay landtrip ni nila so mao na nga na intersect,” Chan said.

Chan urged barangay captains to strengthen monitoring on drugs in their barangays.

“Panawagan nato sa mga barangay captain nga they will also monitor their respective barangay. Duna tay nahibaw-an nga duha ka barangay nga namaligya og ginadiling drugas,” Chan said.

“Hopefully, in due time, madakpan ra gihapon na ang mga nagnegosyo og illegal nga drugas,” he added. - Dominic I. Dilao, Correspondent and  Chiel Martina Y. Condor CNU Intern, JMO (FREEMAN)