Police authorities confiscated as evidence a total of eight (8) sachets of suspected shabu from an abaca stripper who was caught in a buy-bust operation in Baras town late Friday afternoon.
Joint elements of the Baras Municipal Police Station led by acting police chief PCapt. Carlo A. Lita, together with the Catanduanes Provincial Intelligence Unit (CATPIU) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Catanduanes provincial office apprehended the 39-year-old suspect at 5:06 PM of Jan. 23, 2026 in barangay Juan M. Alberto after he handed over two sachets of the dangerous drug to a police officer masquerading as a buyer.
Found in the abaca stripper’s possession were six more plastic sachets containing white crystalline substance believed to be shabu, with the sachets inside a Commando match box.
Also recovered as evidence were a candle, 13 pieces of transparent plastic, a genuine P500 bill and nine (9) copies of the same bill used as “boodle money,” a Commando match box and the Rusi 125 motorcycle that the target used for transportation.
The collected evidence was inventoried at the place of incident and in the presence of the suspect and witnessed by the mandatory witnesses – San Lorenzo, Baras barangay captain Frederick T. Soledad and Office of the Provincial Prosecution representative Larry C. Arcilla.
The suspect, whom a source identified as one Harold Timbang Alano of Agban, underwent medical examination at Bato Maternity and Children’s Hospital before he was detained at the Baras MPS.
The confiscated drug items will be brought to Regional Forensic Unit 5 at Camp Gen. Simeon A. Ola in Legazpi City for laboratory examination.
The police said that cases for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, for the sale and possession of dangerous drugs, are being prepared for filing through inquest before the Office of the Provincial Prosecution.
The Baras MPS, through the leadership of PCpt. Lita, has reiterated its appeal to the public to join hands with the police in the campaign against illegal drugs and provide any information that would aid law enforcers in maintaining peace and order in the community.