TALISAY CITY: Provincial police raided two suspected drug dens in separate operations in barangay Tangke, Talisay City last Saturday and confiscated at least 103 grams of suspected shabu worth at least P1.2 million.
Police also arrested two women, a 64-year-old man and 22 others during the separate raids.
Remedios Cabardo, 18, and her cousin, Carla Bazar, 28, were arrested in the first raid in sitio Galaxy last Saturday afternoon.
Provincial Intelligence Branch operatives moved in after Cabardo sold shabu worth at least P5,000 to an undercover policeman. Bazar was caught inside the house.
Two large packs and four medium size packs believed to contain shabu were confiscated from Cabardo while 250 sachets of suspected shabu were taken from Bazar.
Both Bazar and Cabardo, who had their children with them, denied the accusations.
Senior Insp. Leo Logronio, team leader of the operation, said that the subject of the operation, a certain Ian, was able to escape after some residents in the densely populated neighborhood shouted that police officers were in the area.
“This is just a follow-up operation to an arrest we made in Toledo City, where we learned that the source of the drugs allegedly came from Tangke, Talisay – from a certain Ian. He was there when a police pseudo-buyer bought drugs, but he (Ian) quickly escaped when he learned of the presence of the police officers in the area ,” Logronio said.
He said 10 other men, who were inside the house, also managed to escape.
At 11 p.m., the PIB team raided another house in sitio Kilawin, still in barangay Tangke and arrested Fernando Gabison, 64, and 22 others.
Five small packs were confiscated from Gabison’s possession.
Some of the 22 men arrested were caught playing moli-moli machines while the others were allegedly caught sniffing shabu in the house.
Police confiscated five small packs believed to contain shabu from Gabison. Three moli-moli machines were also confiscated from his house.
The suspects were detained at the PIB office in Sudlon, Cebu City pending the filing of charges.
From sitio Galaxy, Bazar said she was sleeping when the police raided the house.
“I was awakened by the commotion, and I quickly took my child in my arms. I am only a laundry woman, and never have I been involved in drugs,” Bazar told reporters in Cebuano.
Bazar claimed that she saw men throwing some packs to the house where she was staying and found out that these were sachets of illegal drugs.
She said it never crossed her mind to get involved in drugs because she has four little children.
Bazar has four sons – the eldest is 9 and the youngest is 2 years old.
She said to support their needs, she would do laundry for her neighbors for P250 to P450 a day.
Police said the suspects will be transferred to the Consolacion Police Station detention cell today where they will be held pending the filing of charges.
