A son of a former city councilor who allegedly operated a drug den was arrested in a buy-bust operation inside his house in Barangay Talomo Proper, Talomo District on Monday afternoon.
A traffic enforcer and three other were arrested during the operation conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) XI in Diamond Street, SM Village, Bangkal, Talomo Proper.
PDEA 11 director Antonio Rivera identified the target of the operation as Phillip Sison Galope, 41, a resident of the said place.
Rivera said the suspect was the son of former councilor Renato Galope. The elder Galope was appointed as acting city councilor after the Edsa Revolution in 1986 and later became a three-term elected councilor from 1992 to 2001. An opposition legislator, Galope was gunned down in 2004.
PDEA 11 spokesperson Nephi Noli Dimaandal identified the drug den visitors as Reynaldo Deiparine, Jonathan Castillo, Grendell Udan, and Lorenzo Pascual.
Dimaandal said Deiparine is a government employee assigned at the City Transport and Traffic Management Office.
He said Galope was arrested after selling one small sachet of shabu to an undercover PDEA agent for P10,000 around 4 p.m. Monday.
Operatives also recovered a big sachet of shabu and the marked buy-bust money.
Rivera said they conducted surveillance operation after receiving information from neighbors who suspected unusual activities as there were many people going in and out of the house anytime.
“The neighbors were just wondering why (Galope) has no work but there were many people going inside his house,” he said.
The PDEA director said the suspect was described as “silent type” who doesn’t mingle with his neighbors.
After its assessment that there was illegal drug transaction at the house, Rivera said they sent an agent to act as buyer.
The five suspects are now held at the detention facility of the PDEA XI as operatives are preparing documents to charge them for violation of Sections 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).
Meanwhile in Davao del Norte, a drug den was also busted, resulting to the arrest of six suspects, including two targeted operators, also on Monday.
The suspected operators were identified as Sherwin Rivas and May Salupan of Purok Suaybaguio, Barangay Magugpo North, Tagum, City.
PDEA operatives arrested the two after they conspired in selling a sachet of shabu, weighing around one gram worth P10,000, to an undercover agent, at 10:15 p.m.
The four arrested drug den visitors were identified as Arvin Joie Apura, Jovine Cañares, Alter Dalle Gelig and Noli Monreal.
Five sachets of suspected shabu, various drug paraphernalia and the buy-bust marked money were recovered in the anti-drug operation.
The suspects will be charged for violation of Sections 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of RA 9165.
The operation was supported by the PDEA’s Davao del Norte and the Davao Occidental provincial offices and the Davao del Norte Police Provincial Office Provincial Intelligence Branch
Dimaandal said they seized around 26 grams, estimated to worth P380,000, in the two operations.
