• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
An incumbent kagawad of Barangay Gargato in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental and her mother were nabbed during the joint buy-bust operation conducted by Hinigaran Municipal Police Station and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency – Negros Island Region at the said barangay on Wednesday.
The suspect was identified as Pamela Balume, a 31-year-old female and an elected official of their barangay, while the other suspect was her mother, Hany Grace Balume, a 60-year-old senior citizen.
The police were able to confiscate two sachets of suspected shabu weighing 10 grams with the standard drug value of P68,000.
Another operation was conducted by Sagay City Police Station on the same day that led to the arrest of alias “Kaning,” a 45-year-old married male and a resident of San Jose Village in Barangay Poblacion 1.
During the operation, the police seized four sachets of shabu amounting to P394,400 and P1000 in buy-bust money.
Furthermore, on the same day of operations across the province, the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office accomplished the arrest of nine individuals and seized P562,724 worth of shabu in their possession during eight different operations.
Suspects will face charges in accordance with RA 1965 or the dangerous drug act while the recovered items were brought to Negros Occidental Forensic Unit for laboratory examination.*
