Benguet Drug Den Operator, 3 Veggie Grower-Traders Fall In Monday Dawn Raid

August 4, 2020 JUST IN

La Trinidad, Benguet (August 4, 2020) – Anti-narcotics agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera aided by local policemen took an alleged drug den maintainer and his three customers – all vegetable grower-traders—and at least 10 grams of shabu in a dawn raid Monday in Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Ericso Valle, operator of the drug den fronting as billiard hall cum karaoke bar and his customers Reagan Agayao, Brenson Soriano and Myrick Olsim were trapped inside the drug den sniffing shabu, as operatives found 6 small sachets of shabu concealed inside the karaoke machine.
A fifth suspect — Evalson Cadangen– who was also the subject of the search warrant issued by a Benguet court, said Roselle Sarmiento, spokesperson of the PDEA-Cordillera, did not show up in the supposed “pot session” on that Sunday night.
Aside from the sachets of shabu, a bottle with liquid meth and various drug paraphernalia with drug traces were also seized.
Agayao, Soriano and Olsim are all vegetable grower-traders from Buguias town in northern Benguet and trade their produce at the nearby vegetable trading post, Sarmiento added.
Valle and the three vegetable grower-traders, who were sued for drug charges, all tested positive for drugs, PDEA-CAR found out.
PDEA-Cordillera regional director Gil Cesario Castro said they have been “watching” the drug den since Friday night after obtaining a search warrant.
Valle and Cadangen, who is being hunted now, have been operating the drug den for at least a year, according to PDEA.
Artemio A. Dumlao