Camp BGen Efigenio C Navarro, Calapan City – Police Regional Office MIMAROPA, under the leadership of Police Brigadier General Sidney Sultan Hernia arrested a drug suspect in a joint buy bust operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on Saturday, September 10, 2022 at around 2:00 PM.

Police report revealed that Mervin Jhone Tapere Masongsong, 38, listed as a High Value Target of PDEA MIMAROPA, who hails from Barangay San Antonio, Calapan City, of the said province, was arrested after allegedly selling one small heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing “shabu” worth Php 1,000 to a PDEA agent poseur-buyer in a joint operation by PDEA Oriental Mindoro PO and the Drug Enforcement Team of Naujan Municipal Police Station led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Nonato P. Banania, Jr in Sitio 3, Barangay Mabini, Naujan, of the said province.

Seized from the suspect’s possession were one (1) medium-sized self-sealing plastic sachet containing suspected “shabu” with an estimated aggregate quantity of 60 grams valued at Php 400,000.00, the buy-bust money, and other paraphernalia.

The data from the PNP Drug-Related Data Integration and Generation System (DRDIGS) of the Regional Operations Division show that PRO MIMAROPA had already launched a total of 211 anti-illegal drug operations that resulted in the arrest of 240 drug suspects, yielding a total of 553.795 grams of “shabu” valued at Php3,925,361 since January this year.

“I commend the efforts of our operatives in partnership with the PDEA in this successful anti-drug operation. This only proves our unceasing drive to ending the illegal drugs problem in the region”, PBGen Hernia said. – RPIO MIMAROPA