A former overseas Filipino worker who authorities say later turned to the illegal drug trade was arrested along with his close friend during a police buy-bust operation in Barangay Happy Valley, Dinalupihan, Bataan.
Police identified the suspects as alias “Bader,” 33, the primary target of the operation, and alias “Komar,” 42, both residents of the area. According to information relayed by Dinalupihan Municipal Police Station chief Lt. Col. Bjorn John Labos to Central Luzon Police Director Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr., the two were apprehended after allegedly selling shabu to an undercover operative.
Reporting from Remate said investigators believe the suspects acted together in the illegal sale. The main suspect reportedly admitted involvement in drug distribution, telling police he resorted to the activity after losing employment and failing to return overseas, and claimed it was done to support his live-in partner and children.
Both men also allegedly acknowledged using shabu themselves and expressed remorse following their arrest, saying they are now facing imprisonment for the first time.
Authorities recovered several sachets of suspected shabu weighing a total of 4.83 grams, with an estimated standard drug value exceeding P32,000, along with the marked money used in the operation.
The suspects are set to face charges for violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act under the country’s intensified anti-drug enforcement.
