ILOILO CITY – An anti-drug operation in Carles town in Iloilo province resulted in the seizure of more than P6.8 million worth of shabu on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
The authorities at the same time arrested Matthew James Bacos who yielded almost a kilo of shabu in a late night anti-drug operation, a few days before the highlight of the Dinagyang Festival.
The raid was jointly conducted by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), the Carles Municipal Police Station, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The 20-year-old drug suspect initially sold shabu worth almost P600,000 to an undercover cop at a popular beach resort.
Authorities were already looking into Bacos before and got a tip of a big volume of shabu, which is believed to be for distribution to merrymakers of the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City.
Authorities said the seizure of the one kilo of shabu is a welcome development for the inter-agency security task group for the Dinagyang Festival.
Police Captain Julieta Sequio, spokesperson of the Dinagyang Site Task Group, said they are coordinating with different law enforcement agencies for the border control checkpoints for the highlight of the festival from January 20-21.