ILOILO CITY – Police arrested two former drug convicts and three others and seized suspected shabu valued at P816,000 in a buy-bust operation in Pontevedra, Capiz on Wednesday night, March 29.

The Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 identified the two former drug convicts as 48-year-old Ermelio Montenegro Jimenez and 38-year-old Cyril Arcangeles delos Santos, residents of Roxas City, Capiz.

Also apprehended were Jimenez’s wife, Gemma, and their cohorts Adrian Bauson and Mary Grace de la Cruz.

Suspects were nabbed after they sold shabu worth P20,000 to a police poseur-buyer.

The operation led by the Pontevedra Municipal Police Station and backed by the Capiz Police Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PPDEU) targeted Jimenez who was on the priority list of the province.

Jimenez and Delos Santos were incarcerated after they were arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-6. They were released after they entered into a plea bargaining agreement several months ago.

Suspects have been charged for violating Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.