PDEA arrests 10 shabu suppliers

Ten suspected drug pushers, who were reportedly supplying illegal drugs to American troops participating in the joint US-RP Balikatan military exercises, were arrested by operatives of the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Angeles City, Pampanga.

PDEA Director General Anselmo Avenido Jr. said the 10 suspects, four of them females, were identified by authorities recently through Intelligence information provided by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (US-DEA).

They were arrested during buy-bust operations in separate places in the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in Angeles City from Feb. 26 to March 2, the PDEA said.

Avenido added the operations were planned and agreed upon by the PDEA and the US-DEA office in Manila after a thorough probe by the two agencies.

Seized from the suspects were sachets of shabu amounting to about 0.01 gram and 17,036 grams of dried marijuana leaves with fruiting tops. The PDEA also confiscated the two taxi cabs and an owner type jeep the suspects used in their illegal drugs operation.

The suspects are now detained at the Angeles City jail, facing violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. — Christina Mendez