MANILA, Philippines — Anti-narcotics operatives recovered around 27 kilos of shabu valued at P183.6 million in an abandoned vehicle in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City yesterday.
The drugs, which were placed in vacuum-sealed Chinese tea packaging, were discovered by lawmen in a white Toyota Innova multi-purpose vehicle (CDI-9724), which was parked at a pedestrian crossing at the corner of Quirino Avenue and M. Delos Santos street at around 2 a.m., according to the Southern Police District (SPD).
An unidentified man clad in a white shirt parked the car in the area at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, based on closed-circuit television footage shown on GMA News.
A concerned bystander alerted barangay public safety officers about the vehicle, which was abandoned in the place for several hours.
Members of the Tambo police sub-station secured the vehicle. Upon inspection, lawmen noticed the doors were unlocked.
A team from the SPD forensic unit arrived after several hours and inspected the car’s contents.
The police team leader, Lt. Jeffrey Bilog, told reporters they saw packs of shabu in the vehicle.
“We lifted fingerprints. May nakuha naman po and upon searching, we found drugs,” Bilog said.
Aside from shabu, police said they also recovered two photocopies of the car’s official receipt and certificate of registration for a Nissan Sentra with license plate TKS-429, as well as copies of a driver’s license belonging to Ma. Theresa Fernandez, a birth certificate, a vaccination card belonging to Patani Barauntong and other personal items.
Probers said they are conducting an investigation to determine the owner of the abandoned vehicle.
In Quezon City, at least 19 grams of shabu valued at P81,600 were seized from three suspected drug dealers yesterday.
City police chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said Crisanto Magno, 32; Gerald Angeles, 26, and Ramil Tabucuran, 25, were nabbed during a sting in Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon.
The suspects allegedly yielded shabu valued at 47,600.
Six more suspects were collared during an anti-narcotics operation in Barangay Holy Spirit.
They were Jimmy Bautista, 55; Ronneck Serrano, 34; Leonar Garol, 31; Marlon Espeno, 27; Rommel Celestial, 27, and Cassandra Garol, 25.
Police said they recovered from the suspects five grams of shabu worth P34,000. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva