Drug busts nabs 12, nets P1.5M shabu

CEBU, Philippines - Joint police operatives from Negros Oriental and Dumaguete City units yesterday carried out a One-Time-Big-Time operation with the serving of three search warrants at two puroks in sitio Canday-ong, Barangay Calindagan.

The operation resulted in the arrests and detention of 12 suspects, and the confiscation of a total of 140 grams of shabu, with an estimated value of about P1.5 million.

The team consisted of personnel from the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, the Provincial Intelligence Branch, and the Special Operations Group, with assistance from the Provincial Public Safety Company, the Special Weapons and Tactics, and the Dumaguete City Police.

They served three search warrants in the houses of Antonio “Onyot” Calibo at Purok Mutya, and in separate houses of Marissa Kinikot and of Boy Tubilla “Kapre” Labuan at Purok Gumamela, all at Canday-ong. The three suspects were among the 12 arrested and detained.

At Calibo’s house, eight other persons, were arrested while having a pot session. They were identified as: Larry Tindoc, Jessie Tejado, Archimedes Sajol, Philip Bargarinao, Dexter Llanto, Wendell Sibuco, Oliver Yap and Jimbarry Gablines.

Seized from the house of Calibo were one big bulto, three medium-sized sachets and 20 small sachets of shabu, and several hundreds of pesos as proceeds of the drug trade. Some of the shabu were recovered from the possessions of Sibuco, a resident of Barangay Bagacay, Yap of Barangay Motong, and Gablines from Sibulan town.

The inventory of the confiscated items was witnessed by Barangay Calindagan Councilman Roxan Pahayahay  and Department of Justice representative Chilius Benlot.

Calibo, after his arrest, told The Freeman that after the death of his parents, he has to make a living, and the easier way to earn is by selling shabu.

The second warrant was served against the subject Kinicot, who was living in the house owned by a certain Corazon Delica, whose daughter Barang was arrested in an earlier buy-bust operations.

Recovered from the house, where Kinicot was residing, were six medium-sized bultos and 24 sachets of shabu, a digital weighing scale, more than P3,400 cash proceeds, and other drug paraphernalia. Before the search, Kinicot was arrested in a buy-bust operation, in which she yielded four sachets of shabu.

Kinicot, however, denied being a resident of the place and that the police only accosted her outside the house.

In the third search, at the house of Labuan, six bultos of shabu were recovered plus another sachet of shabu was seized from the possession of Mary Ann Pondoyo Piñes who was at the house. Barangay Councilman Rolando Egera witnessed the inventory.

The joint serving of the three search warrants was also supervised by Superintendent Maharlika Villasis, of the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office-Region 18 based in Bacolod City, who was at the scene to make sure the conduct of the operations was in order.

PIB/SOT provincial team leader Chief Inspector Benedict Poblete told The Freeman the joint operation was a project of PRO-18 Regional Director Chief Superintendent Condrado Capa, as part of a massive operation in the Negros Island Region.  (FREEMAN)