KORONADAL CITY — Anti-drug operatives arrested a former soldier and his live-in partner, and recovered around PHP850,000 worth of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” in an operation at a village here Tuesday evening.
Gil Cesario Castro, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Region 12 director, said suspects Rey Donasco, 38, and Hernalee Abadonio, 30, were nabbed in a buy-bust operation at around 6 p.m. at Purok Morillo in Barangay Sta. Cruz here.
He said Donasco, who hails from Barangay Malaya, Banga town in South Cotabato, is a former member of the Philippine Army.
Abadonio, who was tagged as Donasco’s partner in the illegal drug trade, was listed as a resident of Barangay Rang-ay in Banga.
“They are considered as big time drug pushers and among our top target personalities in the region,” Castro said.
The official said the two were initially arrested after “conspiring” to sell a sachet of shabu worth PHP1,000 to a PDEA-12 agent who posed as a buyer.
In a subsequent search, he said they recovered from their “possession and control” a black sling pouch containing two large sachets and four medium sachets of suspected “shabu” weighing around 100 grams and with an estimated value of PHP850,000.
Also seized were two all-weather tooters, three improvised lighters, a digital weighing scale, a stainless scissors, a bamboo sealer, five pieces of improvised aluminum foil tooters and an aluminum foil strip.
Castro said the were already arrested last year for illegal drug-related violations and only out on bail.
He said Abadonio was arrested by elements from the Surallah municipal police station in June last year while Donasco was nabbed three months later by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-12 operatives.
“Their previous cases are indicative of their impunity to violate the anti-drug law,” Castro said.
Citing intelligence information they gathered, the illegal drug trading activities of the suspects covered areas in this city, General Santos City and Sarangani Province.
They reportedly source the peddled illegal drugs from a supplier based in Talitay, Maguindanao, he said.
The two suspects are temporarily detained at the PDEA-12 headquarters in General Santos City.
They will be charged for violation of Section 5 (sale of dangerous drugs), Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs) and Section 12 (possession of drug paraphernalia), under Article II of Republic two Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. AVE/AMS/PNA-northboundasia.com