ORMOC CITY– A 24-year-old man tagged as the No. 6 Regional Priority Target List drug personality was arrested in a police buy-bust operation on Thursday morning, September 4, at the Tzu Chi Palo Great Love Village in Barangay San Jose, Palo, Leyte.
The suspect, identified only as alias “Joey,” jobless and single, was caught by operatives of the Station Drug Enforcement Team of Palo Municipal Police Station around 10:33 a.m. Police said the target was considered a priority in the campaign against illegal drugs in Eastern Visayas.
Confiscated from the suspect were three sachets of suspected shabu weighing about 5.68 grams with an estimated street value of P38,624. One sachet was sold to an undercover agent during the operation for P500, while two more sachets wrapped in white bond paper were recovered during a body search. Authorities also seized the marked money used in the sting.
Police said the body search was conducted in the presence of barangay officials and a representative from the Department of Justice, as mandated by law. The suspect was informed of his constitutional rights in a language he understood before being taken to the Palo police lock-up facility.
Charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, are now being prepared against him.
(ROBERT DEJON)
