Two men arrested for selling libido drugs without permit

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation arrested two men inside an uptown restaurant in a buy bust Wednesday night for allegedly unauthorized selling of sex-enhancement drugs.

The two suspects were Jacin Reider Raquinel, 23, and Joemar Reglamos, 20, both from sitio Cambiohan of barangay Casili in Consolacion. They were caught in the act of selling the regulated drugs without a license to sell from the Bureau of Foods and Drugs.

The NBI agents also confiscated from the suspects' possession 20 boxes of Sure Up, 10 boxes of Viagra and eight boxes of Cialis. These drugs were known as sex enhancement pills that are sold at about P3000 per box from authorized dealers.

The suspects were however selling the drugs at between P500 and P750 per box with each box containing eight tablets.

NBI executive officer Ernesto Macabare said the agency was tipped off about unauthorized people selling these sex-enhancement drugs in the market. A team was immediately organized to conduct the buy bust Wednesday night, he said.

A NBI agent posed as buyer and this resulted in the arrest of Edgar and Danilo Benaro, also from Consolacion, who were found out later that they were merely used as couriers.

Edgar and Danilo agreed to cooperate with the NBI agents so a follow-up buy bust was immediately set up inside an uptown restaurant. This resulted in the arrest of Raquinel and Reglamos.

The two failed to present to the NBI agents any license from BFAD allowing them to sell those drugs. Charges were already filed at the city prosecutor's office against them yesterday.

Macabare said the NBI-7 is now investigating deeper to find out the source of the drugs, and coordinating with Pfizer, the Viagra manufacturer, to determine if the seized drugs were genuine.

Pending the certification from the company, Macabare said the suspects could only be charged for violation of Republic Act 3720-or the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1963-for selling those drugs without the license to sell.

Raquinel told reporters yesterday that couriers from Manila just sent the drugs to them, claiming that these came from TRT drugs store in Manila.

Raquinel however could not identify the person who hired him to distribute the drugs, saying he was merely made to believe that the business was a networking scheme. - Fred P. Languido/RAE