• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
In its intensified campaign against all forms of illegal activities, Police Regional Office Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), seized more than P600,000 worth of suspected shabu and units of loose firearms in a separate operations in Kabankalan and Bacolod City on Wednesday.
Acting on the intelligence information, the Kabankalan Component City Police Station issued a search warrant against a 29-year-old male in his residence at Purok Campilisan, Barangay Oringao, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, which led to the seizure of illegal drugs and loose firearms.
The suspect was identified as Criscencio Taying Jr., a 29-year-old jobless man with a live-in partner.
Recovered from his possession were 8 heat-sealed transparent sachets containing suspected shabu weighing about 40 grams, with a standard drug value of P272,000.
Police also confiscated 2 loose firearms, including an improvised 12-gauge shotgun, locally known as “sulpak,” and a 9mm sub-machine gun with a defaced serial number with a magazine inserted loaded with sixteen live ammunition.
The apprehension was made by virtue of a search warrant indicating the violation of RA 10591, also known as the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, issued by the Regional Trial Court.
The suspect was apprised of his constitutional rights upon apprehension and will face criminal charges in violation of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and RA 1059 for illegal possession of firearms.
Meanwhile, in Bacolod City, a high-value individual was nabbed at Purok Rose in Barangay 9 after the police confiscated from his possession about 55 grams of suspected shabu, amounting to P374,000.
The suspect was identified as alias “Dex,” 33-years-old, a male tricycle driver and resident of Purok Gupio, Barangay Villamonte.
Regional Police Director PBrig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay lauded the operating units for their diligence and commitment, emphasizing the agency’s unrelenting campaign against illegal drugs, loose firearms, and other forms of criminality.
“Our intensified operations show that PRO NIR will never cease in its mission to rid our communities of illegal weapons and dangerous drugs. We remain steadfast in our goal to ensure a safe, peaceful, and drug-free Negros Island Region,” he stressed.
The recovered suspected shabu was brought to Negros Occidental Police Provincial Forensic Unit for laboratory examination, while the suspects remain under the police custody for proper disposition.*
