Bacolod city: Operatives of Bacolod City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit (BCPO-CDEU) confiscated 4.2 kilograms of shabu worth PHP28.56 million from a woman during a buy-bust before midnight on Tuesday. The operation in Purok Fatima, Islamic Center, Barangay 31, led to the arrest of alias 'Bongi,' 36, a resident of the village.
According to Philippines News Agency, this is the largest shabu haul of the police anti-drug operatives in Bacolod City in recent years, as stated by BCPO Director Col. Eugene Rebadomia during a press briefing on Wednesday. Rebadomia emphasized that the confiscation was unprecedented in the city, based on operations from 2025 to 2026, and even in 2024.
In a similar operation in October 2023, CDEU operatives seized 3.02 kilos of shabu worth PHP20.53 million from a male suspect in a buy-bust at Purok Neptune, Barangay Singcang-Airport, ahead of the MassKara Festival celebration. Rebadomia noted that they had been monitoring 'Bongi's' activities for about three months but did not anticipate recovering such a large quantity of illegal drugs from her possession.
Rebadomia revealed that they initially expected to recover only 200 to 300 grams of shabu. However, when CDEU chief Lt. Col. Albert Sy confirmed the seizure of 4.2 kilograms, it came as a surprise to the team. The arrested woman, considered a newly-identified drug personality, is detained at Police Station 6. She is seen as a courier who sells and distributes illegal drugs in several barangays in the city, though she has not disclosed the source of her supply.
The operation involved an undercover policeman purchasing PHP7,000 worth of shabu from 'Bongi' during a meet-up outside her boarding house at approximately 11:39 p.m. Operatives recovered seven heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets and five knot-tied transparent plastic bags containing shabu from her possession.
BCPO chief Rebadomia observed a shift in the demography of drug personalities in the city, noting that most of those apprehended in buy-busts are females. He pointed out that recent arrests have primarily involved young females, often a mother and daughter or those related to each other.
The Bacolod police drug haul occurred three days after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Negros Island Region agents in Negros Occidental recovered about one kilogram of shabu worth PHP6.8 million from three male drug personalities at Purok Masinadyahon, Barangay 24, also in Bacolod City.
