GRO, 2 cohorts arrested with P55,000 shabu

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- A guest relations officer and her two male cohorts were nabbed Thursday in a hotel along Km. 5 here after conspiring to sell sachets of shabu to a female drug law enforcement agent posing as buyer.

The GRO identified as Catherine Lapas Tabacla-Namahig, 34, widow, elementary school undergraduate, native and resident of Buyacaon, Buguias, Benguet.

Her accomplices were named as Shanon Guillao Bayas, 29, married, elementary school graduate, driver, native and resident of Central, Buguias, Benguet; and Ramil Dampilag Tiongan, 33, married, elementary school graduate, farmer, native and resident of Loo, Buguias, Benguet.

The three were arrested in an anti-drug buy-bust operation carried out by anti-narcotic agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera around three p.m. inside Room 411 of the C & A Hotel.

The trio sold two sachets of shabu to the PDEA agent. When frisked later by the arresting PDEA agents, they yielded 19 more sachets of the dangerous drug.

Twenty one sachets of shabu, which weighed 4.2 grams and valued at P55,000 were confiscated from them.

Investigations conducted by Cordillera PDEA agents bared the arrested drug dealers get their supply of shabu from a Muslim community in Tondaligan, Dagupan City, Pangasinan.

They distribute the dangerous drug in Baguio City, and in La Trinidad and Buguias towns of Benguet.

Their clients are usually GROs in the city and other clients in nightclubs, PDEA agents said.
Cases for illegal drugs were filed against the suspects.at the provincial prosecutor’s office.