Cohorts escape: 2 women fall in buy-busts

CEBU, Philippines - At least P236,000 worth of suspected shabu were confiscated from a man and his daughter in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Candabong, Alcantara, Cebu on Friday night.

Operatives of the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (RAIDSOTG)-7, however, were only able to arrest the daughter, 26-year-old Erna Antiporta, while her father Ernesto, 52, managed to escape.

Erna was arrested immediately after handing over a small pack of shabu to the poseur-buyer in exchange for P200.

The transaction was done at 8:30 p.m. outside the house of the suspects.

Ernesto, who was the one who received the P200, was quick to go back inside the house after the poseur-buyer identified himself as a policeman.

The police operatives reportedly were not able to catch up with Ernesto as they still had to climb over a fence to get inside the house.

When they finally got inside, they found out that every side of the fence surrounding the suspects’ house had an entrance or exit door.

The police further seized from Erna’s possession 56 small and three medium packs of suspected shabu that weighed about 20 grams and amounted to P236,000, according to the Dangerous Drugs Board value.

Senior Inspector Joey Bicoy of RAIDSOTG-7 said the father and daughter were placed under surveillance for more than two weeks prior to the buy-bust operation.

He said the suspects are level two drug pushers who can dispose of at least 300 grams of shabu per week and have been in the illegal drug trade for more than a year.

In fact, Erna’s mother and live-in partner are currently in jail after they were arrested years ago for the same offense.

Meanwhile, a woman was arrested while her live-in partner escaped in another buy-bust operation Friday afternoon in Barangay Lawaan in the town of Dumanjug.

Dumanjug Police Station personnel arrested Teofesta Aquino Limbag, 45, who handed over the pack of shabu to the police decoy.

Limbag’s spouse, Florencio Cinco, 46, appeared to have identified the poseur-buyer as a policeman and immediately escaped.

Limbag did not manage to elude arrest. Confiscated from her was a large pack of suspected shabu and the buy-bust money.

The drug seized from the suspects reportedly weighed .96 gram and has a street value of P6,400.

The confiscated pieces of evidence were brought to the PNP Crime Laboratory-7 for examination while Limbag is now detained awaiting charges to be filed against her in court.  (FREEMAN)