Angeles City—Anti-narcotics operatives confiscated P1.3 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu during a buy-bust operation, leading to the arrest of three drug peddlers at Purok Sto. Nino, in Barangay Balibago here Thursday.
Police Colonel Joyce Patrick Sangalang, director of the Angeles City Police Office (ACPO), identified the suspects as Sunny Pelle, 43, of Balibago; Ashraf Tumawis, 18; and Michael Garcia, 18, both of Brgy. Lourdes Northwest in this city.
Sangalang said the suspects are on the police drug watchlist and high value targets operating in Angeles and nearby areas in Pampanga.
The suspects, Sangalang said, are known in the community as sources of illegal drugs being distributed across the city, including the Fields Avenue entertainment strip of beer joints and girly bars.
Police Station 4 chief Major Aris Gonzales, who oversees the Fields Avenue and Balibago area, launched the buy-bust against the suspects through series of negotiations via text messaging.
The suspects, Sangalang said, were told by the poseur buyer to bring the drugs to a place they agreed to meet at. Moments later, the suspects surfaced clutching a bag with the illegal drugs.
Sangalang said the suspects were quickly arrested after they handed two plastic bags of shabu weighing about 205 grams with a street value of P1.3 million, according to the Dangerous Drugs Board estimate.
The seized items were brought to the police crime laboratory for confirmatory testing while the suspects were placed under investigation.
Charges of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act are being readied against the suspects.