Two suspected drug pushers were arrested, and 20 grams of suspected shabu and two loose guns and bullets were seized in Barangay Looc, Dumaguete City, yesterday.

Insp. Ryan Jay Orapa, chief of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, said operatives from various law enforcement units swooped down on the house of Diosdado Chavez, “alias Andok” of Zone 4, at around 10:50 a.m., and confiscated suspected shabu worth P242,000, two unlicensed .357 Magnum caliber firearms with four rounds of ammunition, two sticks of alleged marijuana cigarets, a digital weighing scale, several cell phones and other paraphernalia.

Chavez and his wife, Darren Devera, were the subjects of a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 40 Judge Gerardo Paguio Jr. of Dumaguete City. Devera managed to escape, but the raiding team arrested Chavez.

Five minutes later, police arrested Jessie Gardoce, “alias Nonoy” 38, of Zone 1, also in Looc, during a buy-bust operation in the barangay, that is one of the five areas seriously affected by illegal drugs in Dumaguete.

The search was witnessed by barangay kagawads Dandy Catada, Joel Rubio and Randolph Merced, with members of the local media, to dispute claims of some quarters about the so-called planting of evidence against suspects.

Chavez vehemently denied ownership of the items, and accused the PAIDSOTG of “planting the evidence”.

He said his list of clients in the lending business was lost during the search, and it contains a tally of collectibles worth around P100,000.He said this business helped him send his children and nieces to Silliman University, and not the sale of illegaldrugs.

Records show that his wife, Darren, has a pending case for violation of section 11 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and is out on bail.

Orapa said the couple is alleged to be the general coordinators in the area who receive kilos of shabu from a source in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila.

Chavez is in the “order of battle” or “target list”, being a level 2 drug personality, whose name came out in past arrests by PAIDSOTG, he added.

Separate charges are being readied against the couple for violation of RA 9165, and for illegal possession of firearms.

Supt. James Goforth, Dumaguete police chief, also said the suspects have a history of past arrests related to the illegal drugs trade and loose firearms.

He admitted the need to tighten security and implement safety nets at the entry points in Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental, such as the wharves in Sibulan and Tandayag, Amlan.

These cater to Roll On, Roll Off vessels, fast crafts and motor bancas, but do not have security cameras, x-ray scanners, sniffing dogs, or other routine in checking bags and cargos that are loaded on vessels en route to Negros Oriental.

Because of this, and the limitations of the police in conducting inspection and checkpoints, contraband items, like illegal drugs and firearms, find their way to Dumaguete and other parts of Negros Oriental, Goforth said.

On the proliferation of loose firearms in the city, he said this is due to easy access to manufacturers based in Danao City, Cebu, where there is “backyard manufacturing” of guns, Goforth added.*JFP/JG

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