Five drug suspects were arrested while more than P4 million worth of suspected shabu was seized by law enforcers in separate sting operations in the cities of Bacolod and San Carlos in Negros Occidental over the weekend.

In a statement yesterday, Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor, regional director of Police Regional Office-Western Visayas, said the huge amount of illegal drugs confiscated “underscores the unwavering commitment of law enforcement agencies in the region to combat illegal drug activities.”

At past 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 10, agents of the Bacolod City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit arrested Ma. Faith Salaver Equibal, 56 years old, during a meetup in Purok Narra Baybay, Barangay 8.

Tagged as a high-value individual (HVI), Equibal, a resident of Purok Sigay, Barangay 2, sold a sachet of the prohibited substance worth P20,000 to an undercover policeman.

Police then recovered from her possession four big heat-sealed plastic sachets and three knot-tied plastic bags containing 312 grams of suspected shabu.

Priced at P6,800 per gram, the seized items were valued at P2.121 million.

Up north, four individuals were arrested by operatives of San Carlos City Police Station in a buy-bust along Hope Street in Barangay 5 around 12:30 p.m., also on Saturday.

The suspects were identified as Carlos dela Peña Opciar, 29 years old; Julius Oscaris Escanillan, 29 years old; Alexis Jeffer Colbe Damandaman, 27 years old; and Reynaldo Abao dela Peña, 24 years old.

They yielded 18 plastic sachets containing suspected shabu, weighing about 300 grams and worth P2.06 million.

Opciar and Escanillan, who are considered HVIs, are both no. 9 on the city police drugs watchlist, while their two companions were tagged as street-level individuals.

All the arrested suspects will be charged with violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act. (PNA)