The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) on Monday commended its personnel for a successful operation over the weekend that resulted in the arrest of a high-value individual and confiscation of PHP6.8-million worth of drugs believed to be shabu.
PDEA-7 regional director Levi Ortiz said charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 have been filed against Nestor Rosal, 59, a resident of Purok 4, Upper Kintanar Compound, Barangay Kamputhaw, this city.
Ortiz said operatives from PDEA-7’s Regional Special Enforcement Team and the Intelligence and Investigation Service started conducting surveillance on Rosal’s illegal drug trade about a month ago and conducted the buy-bust operation in his residence on Sunday afternoon after receiving a report from a concerned citizen.
“Somebody in his neighborhood reported about his illegal drug trading. Not only does he dispose of large amount of shabu, he also maintains a drug den. It was an untimely operation as his patrons are not yet in the area,” Ortiz told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
The suspect said he sourced out the shabu supply from Barangay Duljo-Fatima, one of this city’s drug-infested villages, and claimed that he was just a “runner” and earned PHP300 out of it.
However, it was learned that Rosal was jailed in 2016 for an illegal drug case and was released in 2018.
Confiscated during the operation were 10 pieces of knot-tied transparent plastic bags containing white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu weighing more or less one kilogram with an estimated street market value of PHP6.8 million.
The operatives used boodle money topped with a genuine PHP1,000 bill in the arrest of Rosal through a sting operation.
“The community has a big role in the anti-illegal drug campaign because many areas and personalities that have not come yet to the radar of PDEA-7 but because of reports from concerned citizens, we have been able to know and cause the arrest of new drug personalities,” Ortiz said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
