Quezon City nabs 15 at 24/7 drug tiangge

MANILA, Philippines - Fifteen suspected drug pushers and users were arrested and P11,000 worth of shabu were seized by anti-narcotics operatives of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) during a raid on what was tagged as a “24/7 tiangge” yesterday afternoon.

Policemen from the QCPD’s District Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group raided at past 3 p.m. a slum area along Tendido Street just behind the village hall of Barangay San Jose. The supposed “shabu tiangge” was also located near a public elementary school.

Senior Inspector Jaime Armenta said the shabu flea market was operated by the “Zamora drug group” led by a certain Eric Zamora. The supposed leader was not at the site during the raid.

“This local group has been on our target list for quite some time. The drug operation in that barangay is monopolized by this group,” he said.

According to Armenta, the raid was conducted following complaints received by the Quezon City government over reported illegal drug activities in the area.

Residents who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the said clan was behind the alleged drug activities in the area.

“We have been complaining about these drug peddling activities because we also fear for the safety of our children,” a mother said.

Anti-narcotics policemen arrested 15 persons including three women. Among those arrested was house owner Alicia Kasim, 50, who had her two-story shanty divided into partitions and rented to several persons.

Policemen also confiscated 19 sachets containing shabu, several drug paraphernalia and P3,490 in cash. There was also a pad of paper wherein apparent drug transactions, including prices of shabu sold, were written.    – Reinir Padua