By HENRY EMPEÑO | Subic Bay Freeport

FOUR members of the police force in Olongapo City and one purported confidential informant or police asset were arrested here early Friday morning in connection with an entrapment operation and the discovery of a clandestine drug laboratory right in the middle of an upper-crust residential village here.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police in the National Capitol Region (PNP CIDG-NCR) identified the policemen as PLt Reynato Basa Jr., PCpl Gino dela Cruz, PCpl Edesyr Victor Alipio, and PCpl Godfrey Duclayan Parentela. All were assigned at Station 2 of the Olongapo City Police Office.

The lone civilian arrested in the operation was Jericho Dabu, a resident of Olongapo, who yielded an ID card identifying him as a member of RHPU3 Force Multiplier, a group of anti-crime volunteers with a chapter based in Olongapo.

The police said Dabu tried to sell one kilo of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu to a poseur-buyer from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), who paid with marked money.

Operatives from the PDEA NCR and Region 3 offices, PNP-CIDG Northern Manila, PNP-CIDG Zambales, PNP Maritime Group, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Intelligence and Investigation Office (SBMA-IIO) conducted the sting operation at the Kalayaan residential area here, leading to the discovery of a drug laboratory at 336-B Finback Street.

The operation yielded 300 grams of suspected shabu, various laboratory equipment and chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs, four Glock 17 9mm pistols, five cellular phones, a Honda Civic 1996 sedan with plate number UKM 779, and bundles of boodle money used in the sting operation.

According to the SBMA-IIO, the operation started at about 2 pm on Thursday, January 14, when operatives conducted surveillance in the area.

At past midnight, the operatives struck, first netting Dabu in a buy-bust setup, then raiding the house at 336-B Finback where the drug laboratory was hidden and arresting the four alleged policemen-protectors.

The SBMA-IIO described the laboratory as a “kitchen-type operation” that can produce about three kilos of shabu per day.

Unconfirmed reports from the PNP indicated that the syndicate behind the illegal drugs operation was headed by a foreign national, who is now the subject of follow-up operations.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, meanwhile, commended the law enforcement units involved in the operation “for ferreting out this scourge that erodes the very ideals of the Subic Bay Freeport as an investment and economic growth center.”

“The SBMA will always support our law enforcement agencies in ridding our society of elements that degrade our decent and lawful way of life,” Eisma said.

The SBMA chief also called on residents and other stakeholders in the Freeport to be vigilant.

“Let us care for each other in this community. Let us know our neighbors and contribute all we can to keep Subic safe for everybody,” she added. ~