Two buddies who were once jailed for a drug charge yielded almost a million worth of shabu and a 12-gauge shotgun when they were arrested in separate operations on Sunday afternoon.
They were identified as Napoleon Atienza Cadayona Jr., 41, a resident of Milky Way Street, GSIS Subdivision, Barangay 74-A, and Alain Robinson Quesada, liaison officer, and a resident of Emerald Street, SM Village in Bangkal, Talomo District.
Lt. Col. Ronald Lao, the commander of the Talomo Police Station and the Regional Special Operation Group- Drug Enforcement Unit (RSOG-RDEU) head, said Cadayona was nabbed at 4:15 p.m. near his house.
He was caught in possession of 11 sachets of suspected shabu, one shotgun with six bullets, and drug paraphernalia. The total haul weighed 32 grams and had an estimated street value of P512,000.
On the other hand, Quesada was arrested at 12:20 p.m. yesterday, and seized from him were six sachets of suspected shabu. The contraband weighed 30 grams with a street value of around P480,000.
Lao said the suspects were previously arrested in January 2014 for violations of sections 5 and 11 of R.A 9165. They were released through a plea bargaining agreement last November 2018.
“It took us more than a week of monitoring and surveillance before these two operations were conducted,” he said.
“Illegal drugs are a big contributor to crime in the community. While we are committed to placing drug offenders before the courts, we know that locking them up is only one element to reducing harm,” he further said.
The Talomo station boosted its police visibility by deploying 85% of its personnel on the field. They will be involved in a different range of community engagement initiatives, such as getting out of the community
The deployed personnel will be involved and utilized in a range of community engagement initiatives, patrols, and intelligence-gathering.
“The presence of more uniformed men and women on the field will make criminals think twice before breaking the law, ” the Talomo police station commander said.
Last week, the Talomo Police Station community relations personnel conducted illegal drug symposiums on different schools to alert students of its dangers, as well as distribute informative materials.
“To tackle the harm caused by drugs in the community, I have directed my CAS (Community Affairs Section) and WCPD (Women and Children’s Protection Desk) policewomen to also work closely with the education sectors to address the pillars of drug harm, prevention, and its ill-effects,” he ended.
For now, the suspects are detained in the Talomo police, while they await the charge for violations of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002.
