By Calvin Cordova
CEBU CITY—Fourteen persons were arrested when police conducted a series of operations in a known drug-infested barangay in Talisay City, southern Cebu.
Dubbed “Oplan Limpyo Talisay,” yesterday’s operations in Barangay Tangke also led to the confiscation of illegal drugs worth P143,000, said Police Maj. Gerard Ace Pelare, chief of the Talisay City Police Station.
Police started the simultaneous drug raids at around 4:30 a.m. and ended at 6:45 a.m.
Among those arrested in Barangay Tangke were Walter Cabardo and Richard Dela Cruz.
A separate drug raid in Barangay Cansojong saw the arrest of Roger Bacus and his two alleged cohorts.
Talisay police intensified their campaign against illegal drugs after President Rodrigo Duterte said that illegal drug trade remained rampant in the city.
The President made the remarks in his speech during the Sinulog Grand Showdown at the Cebu City Sports Center last January 19.
Talisay Mayor Samsam Gullas has admitted that “illegal drug problem in our city remains a pressing issue especially in Barangays Tangke, San Roque and Sitio Mananga in Tabunok.”
Pelare said the Talisay police have placed Barangays Tangke and San Roque under tight watch.
“These relentless anti-drug operations are made possible with the establishment of two static RFMB (Regional Force Mobile Battalion) checkpoints in Barangays Tangke and San Roque which literally locked down illegal drugs personalities in the area,” said Pelare.
As police closely monitor Tangke and San Roque, police are expecting drug peddlers to transfer to other barangays.
“As Tangke and San Roque are now neutralized, it is expected that the illegal drug trade to cater drug users will transfer to neighboring barangays like Cansojong and Tabunok. Anticipating this, intelligence monitoring are now beefed up in this areas,” Pelare said.