Around P136 million worth of suspected shabu was seized in a joint buy-bust operation on Tuesday afternoon, March 25, in Benguet.
In a statement, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that four suspects were arrested, including Mary Ann Teope, 43, one of the PDEA’s high-value individuals from Baguio City.
The remaining three were identified as: Palmer Nankihid Moling, 45, Mark Leonard Teope Laurente, 38, and Adriano Soriano Basallo, 37.
The joint buy-bust operation by PDEA and other enforcement authorities recovered a total of 20 kilos of illegal drugs.
The operation conducted in South China Sea Green Valley Subdivision, Barangay Dontogan, Benguet City, resulted in the confiscation of vacuum-sealed transparent plastic bags containing white crystalline substance believed to be shabu weighing 1,000 grams.
Meanwhile, the nineteen pieces of vacuum-sealed transparent plastic bags contain white crystalline substance believed to be shabu weighing 19,000 grams.
Around 20 kilograms of the suspected shabu’s street value is estimated to be PHP 26 million and has a standard value of PHP 136 million.
The suspects will be transported to the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City. They would face charges for the violations of Sections 5 and 11 of Article II of Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, for the alleged sale and possession of illegal drugs.
