By Leonardo Micua
PDEA, PNP dismantle Urdaneya drug den
Eighteen suspected drug personalities were arrested and some P600,000 worth of shabu were seized during a raid on what lawmen described as a fortified drug den by joint Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) operatives on Aruego Street in Zone 5, in Poblacion, Urdaneta City in the afternoon of March 9.
No less than PDEA Regional Office 1 Director Julius M. Paderes, along with PNP officials, supervised the high-impact operation conducted from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Caviganan Compound on Aruego Street, from where 18 suspected drug personalities were arrested.
A report from PDEA Region 1 stated that the 18 suspects were caught within a well-guarded compound, which served as a systematic hub for the sale and consumption of dangerous drugs.
The raid was the result of successful coordination among nine elite units from PDEA, Police Regional and Provincial Offices, the Regional Special Enforcement Team (RO1-RSET), Seaport Interdiction Unit, and from the Urdaneta City Police Station, Pangasinan Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit 1 (RPDEU 1), Regional Intelligence Division 1 (RID1), Pangasinan-PPO SWAT-Rosales, and the 104th Maneuver Company of Regional Mobile Force Battalion 1.
Conducted with tactical precision by the composite teams, the operations ensured the successful containment of the fortified drug den, seizure of a big volume of illegal drugs, and the multiple arrests of the drug personalities within the premises, PDEA said.
The suspects, all residents of Urdaneta, were caught by lawmen within the fortified premises, which PDEA said was serving as a drug hub for the sale and use of dangerous drugs, while they were serving multiple search warrants on the drug den.
PDEA reported that 46 plastic sachets containing approximately 88.13 grams of suspected shabu valued at ₱ 599,284.00, various drug paraphernalia, and mobile phones suspected to be used by some of the suspects in drug transactions.
Explaining his personal involvement during the operation, participated in full force by lawmen, Director Paderes said: “We are here to show that the ‘grit and determination’ of our law enforcers is unmatched. By dismantling this well-guarded den, we have not only taken drugs off the street but have also uprooted a center of crime that has long plagued this city. We will not stop until every drug hub in Region 1 is finally dismantled.”
All the 18 suspects are now in custody and will face multiple criminal charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, specifically, Section 6 (Maintenance of a Drug Den), Section 7 (Employees and Visitors of a Den), Section 10 (Manufacture/Possession of Equipment), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs) and Section 12 (Possession of Drug Paraphernalia).