Iloilo jail guard found shabu stuffed in fruit

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – A jail guard of the Iloilo Provincial Integrated Jail on Thursday busted the plan of a visitor to sneak sachets of shabu into the prison facility in Pototan, Iloilo.

The illegal drug of about five grams, contained in sachets, was stuffed inside an unripe papaya and was brought to jail by a 17-year-old boy who was supposed to visit his father, an inmate facing drug charges in court.

The duty jail guard apparently grew suspicious after seeing a cut at the portion of the papaya, which when cut, subsequently revealed the sachets of shabu.

Senior Inspector Ariel Corcino, Pototan Police chief, said the juvenile suspect was turned over to the police and later placed in custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. For now, “we don’t know for sure if there was a plan to trade shabu inside the jail facility,” he added.

It was not the first time that some jail visitors hatched a “clever” scheme to slip illegal drugs inside the provincial jail.

Last May, 30-year-old Maricon Grapeñas, of Jaro, Iloilo City, was arrested after allegedly trying to sneak a sachet of shabu, hidden in a pack of potato chips, for her live-in partner, Michael Lido, who was also detained for illegal drugs case. —Jennifer P. Rendon (FREEMAN)