Two arrested in Baguio drug operations

BAGUIO CITY — Two people were arrested in separate anti-illegal drug operations in Baguio City, police said, as the Cordillera police force reported total suspected drug seizures valued at nearly P9.96 million across the region on Aug. 27.

The Police Regional Office Cordillera Administrative Region (PRO CAR), in a press release, said a 31-year-old woman classified by authorities as a high-value individual was arrested during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Imelda R. Marcos.

Police alleged that the woman sold a sachet containing suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, to an undercover officer.

The substance reportedly weighed about 5 grams and had an estimated standard drug price of P34,000.

In a separate buy-bust operation in Barangay DPS Compound, authorities arrested a 28-year-old man classified by police as a street-level individual.

Police said the operation led to the alleged recovery of nine sachets containing suspected shabu from the man’s possession.

The substances had a combined weight of about 3.02 grams and an estimated standard drug price of P20,536.

Police said the two Baguio operations involved personnel from Police Stations 5, 2 and 3, the City Drug Enforcement Unit and City Intelligence Unit of the Baguio City Police Office, as well as the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit-Cordillera, the Regional Intelligence Division of PRO CAR, Regional Intelligence Unit-14 and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera.

In Mankayan, Benguet, a 25-year-old man was arrested during a separate buy-bust operation in Barangay Poblacion.

Authorities alleged that he sold a sachet containing suspected shabu weighing about 0.10 gram, with an estimated standard drug price of P680.

Elsewhere in the Cordillera, police reported discovering two marijuana cultivation sites in Barangays Ngibat and Loccong in Tinglayan, Kalinga.

Authorities said the sites contained an estimated 49,500 fully grown marijuana plants, with a combined standard drug price of P9.9 million.

The Kalinga operations involved the Tinglayan Municipal Police Station, the 2nd Kalinga Provincial Mobile Force Company and other units of the Kalinga Police Provincial Office, with support from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Kalinga office.

The three arrests and the reported seizures brought the total standard drug price cited by PRO CAR to P9,955,216.

The identity and composition of the seized substances remain subject to forensic examination and applicable court proceedings.