A 31-year-old barangay councilor and her 60-year-old mother-in-law were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Gargato, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental on Wednesday, Aug. 6. (PRO-NIR)
BACOLOD CITY – A 31-year-old barangay councilor and her 60-year-old mother-in-law were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Sitio San Roque, Purok 5, Barangay Gargato, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Police identified the suspects as barangay official Pam and her mother-in-law Grace.
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office said the suspects were nabbed after they sold suspected shabu to a poseur-buyer from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Recovered from the suspects were suspected shabu weighing 10 grams valued at P68,000, P13,000 in marked money, a lighter, an improvised straw scooper, and three cellphones.
Police Lt. Col. Joem Malong, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), said that Pam was tagged as a high-value target in the illegal drugs trade.
Pam’s husband was also arrested by PDEA for a drug offense in May 2024 in Hinigaran and is still detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Malong said the operation against the barangay official was based on the joint intelligence monitoring of PDEA and police after her alleged illegal drug activities were discovered.
It was the suspects’ first apprehension for drug pushing.