The arrest of 13 persons allegedly engaged in pot sessions during recent simultaneous raids in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, led to the discovery of what the police described as a "one-stop-shop-area" for shabu users in the city.

The three houses simultaneously raided at Interior V Gustilo-Rizal Streets, Brgy. 3, San Carlos City, owned by Hermegildo Diaz, 60; Cesar Lumanog,38; and Alfonso Gonzales, 54, on the strength of search warrants issued by Judge Rogelio Beldia, have been tagged by the police as suspected "drug dens".

SPO2 Ramon Bartulin, San Carlos police intelligence chief, yesterday said the house of Diaz has two cubicles, and caters to drug users who may want to engage in "pot sessions", at a minimal fee of P10 per person.

Each cubicle has a wooden table and chairs, and a kerosene lamp at the center. The house of Diaz is several meters away from the house of Alfonso Gonzales, which is believed to be also utilized as a drug den, Bartulin who participated in the simultaneous raids, said.

Police investigations also showed that Lumanog and Almar Gonzales, son of Alfonso, are neighbors of Diaz who is also allegedly engaged in pushing shabu.

The arrest of Lumanog and his wife, Lanie, Gonzales and his son, Almar, Diaz, Efren Canoy, Stephensor Broce, Albert Flores, Adolfo Jimena, Roderick Macalua, Filmore Ylaya, Julian Revilla, and Alan Ybañez yielded 14 sachets of suspected shabu and its paraphernalia.

Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, police chief of San Carlos, said a .38 caliber revolver was taken from the possession of Almar Gonzales, while a fan knife was recovered from Ylaya.

OTHER CRIMES

Senior Inspector Victorino Romanillos, deputy of de la Paz and who presented the 13 arrested suspects to Senior Supt. Charles Calima at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City, said they also found out that Jimena is an employee of the municipality of Guihulngan, Oriental Negros.

On the other hand, Flores and Gonzales were also tagged by the police as among the suspects in the recent ransacking of a commercial building in San Carlos City.

24-HOUR SERVICE

The "one-stop-area" for shabu users reportedly has been operating for almost three months now, and are open 24-hours to its customers before it was discovered and raided on March 3 by the police, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Senior Supt. Charles Calima, provincial police director, yesterday commended the San Carlos police for their successful anti-drug campaign. A month earlier, PDEA also raided a one-stop-shop-shabu restaurant in Pasig City.

"We are doing this kind of job in support of the anti-drug campaign of PDEA," Calima said.

He also ordered Chief Inspector Jomil John Trio, newly-designated intelligence chief of the Negros Occidental police, to closely coordinate with PDEA in neutralizing groups engaged in drug peddling activities.

The 13 drug suspects arrested were brought yesterday by the San Carlos police to the PNP Crime Laboratory in Bacolod City for drug testing.*GPB

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