Police operatives seized nine sachets of shabu last week from a 33-year old woman who is included in a provincial-level illegal drugs watchlist.
Norlina Aiza Mercado Chio, a resident of San Pablo, Virac, was placed under arrest by undercover police officers after handing over a small sachet of shabu to a poseur-buyer at 10:10 A.M. of April 8, 2020 in the barangay.
The buy-bust operation was mounted by a team composed of the Virac Municipal Police Station (MPS), Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit / Regional Special Operations Unit Regional Intelligence Division (RPDEU/RSOU RID) and the Catanduanes Provincial Intelligence Unit (PIU) under the leadership of Maj. Bon Billy D. Timuat.
Aside from the small sachet that she reportedly sold for P500, the police also found in her possession another small sachet of the illegal drug and seven medium-sized sachets of suspected shabu, the buy-bust money and other non-drug items.
Chio, who is included in the Recalibrated Priority Database on Illegal Drugs of the provincial police, is now detained at the Virac police station pending the filing of charges for sale and possession of dangerous drugs in violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
Several years ago, the suspect was among those arrested by the police in a raid on an alleged drug den in barangay Antipolo del Sur.
Chio was with Floro Molina and an elderly couple were at the latter’s residential compound when the Virac police came to apprehend Leo Cino Bagadiong, who has been charged before the Regional Trial Court in four separate cases of violation of RA 9165 and in two other cases for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
The charges against Chio, Molina and the couple were dismissed for lack of probable cause on the ground of insufficiency of evidence.