An estimated P920,000 worth of illegal drugs were confiscated over the weekend following two separate buy-bust operations in Bacolod City.
Police arrested Ronald Ibanez, a resident of the city’s Barangay 1, following one operation; and Alexander Corot, Jamel Hadjirauf, and Ronie Medel of the city’s Barangay Singcang-Airport in the second.
Information provided by the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) said operatives from the City Drug Enforcement Unit arrested Ibanez early Sunday morning after he handed over one sachet of suspected shabu to a police poseur-buyer.
Following a subsequent search, police further recovered a total of 12 sachets of suspected shabu, weighing 52 grams, and valued around P780,000.
Meanwhile, following a separate operation conducted in Barangay Singcang-Airport, operatives from Police Station 8 arrested Corot, Hadjirauf, and Medel after they sold one sachet of suspected shabu.
A search recovered a total five sachets of shabu with a market value of P140,000, along with drug paraphernalia.
The arrested suspects all face illegal drugs charges.
Earlier, BCPO confirmed drug personalities in the city may be stockpiling illegal drugs in preparation for the upcoming MassKara Festival.
BCPO spokesperson, Police Lt. Colonel Ariel Pico, said drugs are in demand particularly during festivities as some revelers use illegal drugs to stay awake.
He said the department has since stepped up monitoring in order to intercept any drugs being smuggled into the city’s entry points./DGB, WDJ