Separate buy-bust operations conducted by the Catanduanes police on the same day last week led to the arrest of a barangay councilman in Viga town and an 18-year-old college student in Virac.
First to fall was the 54-year-old Viga barangay official named only as “Jay,” who was apprehended at 5 PM of Oct. 21, 2026 after handing over a sachet of suspected shabu to a policeman masquerading as a drug user.
In the operation mounted by joint elements of the Catanduanes Police Intelligence Unit (CatPIU) together with the Viga Municipal Police Station, Catanduanes 2nd Police Mobile Force Company and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Catanduanes, a plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance believed to be shabu weighing an estimated 1.07 grams and street value of P7,276.00 was confiscated fron him.
Also seized were a genuine P500 bill and a photocopied bill of the same value used as buy-bust money, a Vivo smartphone and a Honda RSX motorcycle used by the suspect during the transaction.
The entire operation was documented using body-worn cameras while the onsite marking and inventory of evidence was done in the presence of mandatory witnesses.
The local official, identified by a source as one Jovert Tuquero of barangay San Jose (Oco), would be charged with violation of Section 5 of Republic Act 9165 for the sale of dangerous drugs.
Barely four hours later in Virac, an 18-year-old college student was caught red-handed selling marijuana to an undercover police officer last week.
Elements of the Virac Municipal Police Station led by Plt. Eliseo L. Villar, Jr., deputy police chief, together with personnel of the CatPIU and the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit 5 (RPDEU 5, under the supervision of police chief PMaj. Kenneth Ding C. Gutierrez, conducted the buy-bust operation that targeted the student, identified in the report only as “Ling,” a resident of barangay San Isidro Village.
Seized from him at 9:38 PM of Oct. 21, 2026 at Sto. Cristo St., Purok 2, were three (3) pieces of self-sealing transparent plastic sachets containing dried leaves believed to be marijuana, with an estimated weight of 7.65 grams and a street value of P918.00.
The police also kept as evidence the genuine P500 bill and a counterfeit bill of the same denomination used as “budol” money during the anti-illegal drug operation.
The buy-bust was documented using two (2) body-worn cameras, while the marking of the evidence was done on site in the presence of a barangay kagawad and a representative from the Department of Justice.
A check of the Investigative Solution and Automatic Verification (ISAV) system showed that the suspect, tagged as a street-level individual, did not result in hits in the Criminal Information Reporting and A System (CIRAS) and E-Rogue and there were no pending arrest warrants against him.
A source in the barangay identified the suspect as one Clent Joshua Estallo, who could face charges of violation of Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act 9165, for the sale and possession of dangerous drugs.