A punong barangay in the town of San Enrique, Iloilo was arrested in a buy-bust operation on Monday, June 26.
Elvie Paez, 47, village chief of Barangay Palje was nabbed after selling one sachet of suspected shabu to a police officer acting as poseur-buyer in exchage for P1000.
Authorities recovered from the suspect a total of 11 heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets each containing white crystalline substance believed to be shabu.
The sachets, with an estimated street value of P34,000, were found inside a pouch in Paez’s pocket.
The suspect also yielded a 12-gauge shotgun and a revolver, bullet cartridges, a mobile phone, and a motorcycle.
The operation was conducted by the joint forces of operatives of the San Enrique Municipal Police Station (MPS), Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU), Provincial Special Operations Group (PSOG), and the 2nd Iloilo Provincial Mobile Force Company (2nd IPMFC).
Paez is now in the custodial facility of the San Enrique MPS and will be charged for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2022 and the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
Police Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor, acting director of the Police Regional Office (PRO-6), said the arrest Paez “is a manifestation that the police in Western Visayas is doing its share in the 5-focused agenda of CPNP, on honest and aggressive law enforcement operations, by delivering positive result in our drug war.”
“Elected government officials engaging in illegal drugs has no place in Western Visayas. The police cannot do it alone. We thank the community for giving us valuable information that resulted to this high-impact accomplishment,” he said.
“Magtulungan po tayo para sa pagsugpo ng iligal na droga sa ating rehiyon para sa mas magandang bukas ng ating mga anak,” Villaflor added.IMT
