Police arrested three suspected drug personalities who were allegedly caught in possession of a loose firearm and suspected shabu at a resort in Panglao during a drug buy-bust operation at dawn on Monday.
Authorities identified the operation’s target as Adelio Blanco, 35, a drug offender who was released through the Supreme Court-mandated plea bargaining framework late last year.
According to Captain Romar Labasbas, chief of the Panglao police, Blanco and his alleged cohorts in the drug trade Harris Lumayno, 24, a Bachelor of Science in Education student at the University of Bohol and Peter Ross Lumantas, 35, were collared inside a resort in Barangay Tawala.
Labasbas said that Blanco has been selling shabu in Panglao including to tourists in the resort town.
He was placed under surveillance for several months before police were able to successfully arrange a drug transaction with him.
In a report, police said that they seized a .22 Magnum Black Widow from Blanco and 12 packets of suspected shabu from inside the trio’s rented room.
The seized drugs worth estimated to be worth 47,600 based on the value set by the Dangerous Drugs Board.
All three men were detained at the Panglao Police Station lock-up jail pending the filing of charges against them.
Both Blanco and Lumantas are set to be charged with sale and possession of illegal drugs.
Lumayno meanwhile will face an illegal drug possession charge. (WM)