DAVAO CITY (November 4) — Some five suspected drug pushers were arrested, and a loose firearm was confiscated in four buy-bust operations in Davao City on Saturday, police said.
In the buy-bust operation conducted at around 2:30 p.m. in Purok 10, Tibungco, this city, operatives of the Sasa Police Station arrested James Castro, 29, and Mar Aries Darwin, 28, who are both jeepney barkers and residents of Tibungco.
The operating team confiscated from their possession suspected shabu and PHP500 marked money used in the buy-bust.
At around 2:50 p.m., the Bunawan police conducted a buy-bust operation at Bud-bud, Bunawan that resulted in the arrest of Alvin Velasco, 56, resident of Bagahay, Baliok, Talomo, this city. Velasco yielded three sachets of suspected shabu and PHP500 marked money.
In a separate operation, the Sta. Ana police arrested Ariel Alfaro, 55, resident of IWHA Village, Barangay Dumoy, this city. The operatives confiscated from his possession some four sachets of suspected shabu, one Suzuki Raider motorcycle, and PHP500 marked money.
In a joint operation of the Sta. Ana police in coordination with the Davao City Police Office and Task Force Davao also on Saturday afternoon, target suspect Rogoven Solis was tracked down at the TF checkpoint in Lasang, this city.
Solis, 38, resident of Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte, was in possession of one sachet of suspected shabu and one .45-caliber pistol without serial number with one magazine, loaded with four live ammunitions when he was apprehended.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-11 Director Marcelo Morales lauded the Davao police for its two successful buy-bust operations against illegal drugs.
“All arrested suspects are now in the custody of the operating units while documents are being prepared for the filing of a case for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,” he said.
He added that Solis will also face a case for violation of the law on firearms and ammunitions.
Morales said the successful anti-illegal drug operations were part of the aggressive implementation of “Oplan: Double Barrel- Reloaded”, an anti-criminality approach of the Philippine National Police.
Morales vowed that PRO-11 will continue to implement intervention and countermeasures all throughout the region to deter criminality.
He said the measures would include the conduct of checkpoint, the intensified campaign against loose firearms or Oplan Bakal or Sita, and the mobile and foot patrol which are aimed to enhance crime prevention and crime solution. – Lilian Mellejor/PNA
