ILOILO CITY – A female fish broker, who was out after a plea-bargaining for a drug case, was arrested along with three relatives following a buy-bust operation that resulted in the confiscation of 200 grams of shabu valued at PHP1.36 million in the municipality of Lemery in Iloilo province on Friday.
Lemery Municipal Police Station (MPS) officer-in-charge Capt. Jose Winston Biadog, in an interview, identified the fish broker as 34-year-old Shiela Mae F. Yu listed as a regional target by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and a high-value individual (HVI).
She was caught together with her brothers Jose Maria, 26, and Bryan, 29; and her stepdaughter 21-year-old Angel Kyth Alavaren, all residents of Estancia town.
Jose Maria is on the provincial target list and also an HVI.
Biadog said the suspects were the target of anti-drug enforcement units in Estancia, so they rented an apartment in Lemery where they stayed for almost three months to evade arrest.
He added that based on the investigation, the suspects’ repacked drugs are distributed to municipalities in the fifth district of the province.
“This will have a big impact because the 200 grams when distributed, can harm the youth and those who buy from them,” she said.
The suspects are currently detained at the Lemery Municipal Police Station (MPS) custodial facility, while a case for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, will be filed against them on Saturday.
The operation was conducted jointly with the Provincial Intelligence Unit and the Provincial Drugs Enforcement Unit-Provincial Special Operations Group of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office as lead units together with the MPS of Carles and Lemery, and the second Iloilo Provincial Mobile Force Company, among others. (PNA)
