Teen Guarded P6M In Shabu

[Medic Mike]

Sunday, August 10, 2014

A 14-YEAR-OLD girl believed to have been used as a drug mule was arrested by police, who confiscated from her an estimated P5.9 million worth of shabu in Labangon, Cebu City last Saturday night.

The arrest of Marian (real name withheld) alarmed law enforcers, who say there is a rising trend among drug dealers to let minors do their dirty work.

She was caught during a buy-bust operation with large packs of shabu weighing half a kilo combined, the biggest drug haul for an anti-narcotics operation of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) this year.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgar Labella said this serves as a wake-up call for legislators to review the law on juvenile delinquents.

Anyone 15 years old or younger is exempted from criminal liability. Those 15 to 18 may be held criminally liable if there’s proof that they acted with discernment in committing a crime.

“The amendment of the law is long overdue. Nothing has been done and it has contributed largely to the crimes,” he told Sun.Star Cebu, referring to Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.

The buy-bust took place at 8:10 p.m. inside a house rented by the girl’s employer along Balaga Drive. A two-week surveillance operation preceded the bust, police said.

Supt. Romeo Santander, head of CCPO’s City Intelligence Branch (CIB), said that a decoy bought a large pack of shabu worth P295,000 from Marian.

When the girl handed over the item and received the money (some of which were just paper bills hidden in a stash of real money), Marian was taken by the police. She was alone in the house during that time.

The intelligence operatives, together with a team from the Punta Princesa Police Station, then searched the premises and found 12 other large packs of shabu; a stash of shabu placed in a re-sealable bag; a digital weighing scale; and P1,100 cash.

Big-time

Each large pack of shabu weighed 25 grams. A gram of shabu is worth at least P11,800, based on estimates by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

When interviewed by Sun.Star Cebu, Santander said they learned of Marian’s activity through intelligence monitoring.

“Dili sad ni sila mamaligya ug ginagmay. Mag-depende ra pud siya sa sugo sa iyang amo (This group doesn’t sell small amounts. The girl just follows her employer’s orders),” he said.

Santander said the police also suspect Marian had already disposed of another half-kilo of shabu last week, because their intelligence reports indicate she recently got one kilo.

Marian was temporarily placed in the Punta Princesa Police Station and will face criminal complaints today for possession and sale of illegal drugs.

The police are also mulling a complaint against the girl’s mother.

Girls as mules

Asked about what happened, Marian said she only got P1,000 from her employer for the transaction.

“Wa ko kabawo ing-ana diay kadako (I had no idea the batch was worth a lot more),” she said.

Senior Supt. Conrado Capa, deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7, described the increase use of minors in illegal activities as alarming.

“They are supposed to be at school or playing with friends, instead of being exposed to illegal activities,” he said.

Last July, two teenage sisters were arrested by police for allegedly peddling Nubain during a buy-bust in Barangay Kamagayan.

The girls, 15 and 13, were caught with 63 ampules of Nubain worth P12,600. Nubain or nalbuphine hydrocholoride, a painkiller, was reclassified as a dangerous drug in 2011.

Under RA 9344, offenders below 15 can’t be prosecuted and imprisoned in any government jail.

Those that are 15 to 18 years old shall be free from criminal liability and subjected to an intervention program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), unless there is proof the minor acted with discernment.

Second chance

But Santander said the police will still file a case against Marian, in the hope that what happened will serve as a lesson to others.

“Dili gyud ni namo palampason. Gusto ni namo mahimo nga sample para sa uban nga dili sila basta basta makagamit ug mga bata (We won’t let this opportunity slip. We want others to take notice that they cannot just use children for their activities),” he said.

Meanwhile, the DSWD said the agency is willing to assist the 14-year-old girl.

She has to be placed in a facility where she will be safe, said Grace Yana, DSWD 7 social worker for children.

Yana said that the girl will be assessed by a social worker in Barangay Labangon.

The social worker in charge of the girl’s case will have to seek help from the Cebu City Government or from a private organization in looking for shelter for the teenager.

Either the social worker or the arresting officers can apply for a court order to have the girl placed in a rehabilitation facility. In Cebu City, one such facility for minors is Operation Second Chance.

 

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2014/08/10/teen-guarded-p6m-shabu-359033

 

 

Shabu is really starting to be a big problem in this country.

[Mike J]

There is a special place in hell for those who choose to use children to commit crime.  :bash:

[Call me bubba]

i agree MIKE J, that people who use children  should be in HELL.

 

to me it shows that the "DRUG TRADE" is escalating and adapting to the market ,

 the word i look for is,, INGENUITY( i think this is correct)

 

How ever this is symptomatic of the ILL' and other problems that FACE this country

 educate the young, improve education and job opportunities for all,

show that a" QUICK FIX" is not the way to find success

a fair and balance system to play by the rules ,I could  rant and rant on.  say more but i think we know what the picture is.

 

 Using children in the commission of crimes is new here in the country yet its been going on for years in the 1st world(usa)

1. at least this child was not involved in "sex related" activities 

.

2.a minor/child who commits a crime like this is assured that freedom is just a few steps away while the ADULT who does this will faces LIFE IMPRISONMENT w/a slim if any chance of release.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Pittman apartments Sgn

[Methersgate]

I think that shabu use is increasing very fast; it is already a huge, and un-acknowledged, problem

[sjp52]

shabu, Is that meth and what do they call pot ?

[sonjack2847]

Illegal drugs are a problem in lots of places not just here.It does seem to be more widespread and it is a big problem here in the south.

[Jake]

shabu, Is that meth and what do they call pot ?

Hey Scott,

 

Shabu is methamphetamine hydrochloride similar to what we call here in CA -- ice or crystal meth.

One G (gram) of Shabu cost around 1500 pesos (60 bucks) around the early 90's.  These days

I believe it's ten times that.  It's a white crystalize piece that you can cut into smaller pieces.  It is

usually smoked like this:

 

 

His right fingers are holding a long wick, a very thin rolled up toilet about a foot long.  You can use

a lighter but why waste the fluid.  The aluminum trough is angled downward, as the rock melts and

slowly slides down to the end, leaving a white residue.  You inhale the white smoke using a rolled

up strip of aluminum foil.

 

The locals call it damo (grass) for pot.  The high grade variety comes from the mountains around

Baguio.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

[Medic Mike]

shabu, Is that meth and what do they call pot ?

The stuff we are seeing on the streets is more closely related to crystal meth, in most cases because the way it is prepared by the backyard chemists, more potent than the ICE we see in Australia.

[Medic Mike]

A 14-year-old girl was taken into custody after she was caught delivering shabu worth P5.9 million during a buy-bust operation in Cebu City over the weekend.

The drug bust in barangay Labangon has renewed calls to amend the law that exempts child offenders from being punished for committing crimes.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III yesterday said he supports calls to amend the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 following the arrest of the teenager, whom police suspect was just used as a drug mule.

The girl remains with the child welfare facility of the Punta Princesa Police Station, which is tryng to locate her parents.

Police said a drug sale was transacted in Labangon and that the girl later showed up with a carton of shabu packs.

Senior Insp. Arieza Otida, chief of the Women and Children’s Protection Desk, said the family elders may be charged with child abuse or parental neglect.

“We will take into consideration the possibility of filing a case against her parents,” she said, adding that the girl’s birth certificate also has to be checked.

Police said they identified the supplier of the drugs but Supt. Romeo Santander, chief of City Intelligence Branch (CIB) withheld the name since operations were still going on.

Governor Davide said drug dealers are using the law – Republic Act 9344 – to their advantage by using minors to transport illegal drugs.

“Yes, when I was still councilor of Cebu City, we’ve always moved for the amendment of the Juvenile Delinquency Justice law. Nowadays, the children have been made as instruments of these crimes especially on drugs,” he told reporters yesterday.

Child offenders aged 15 and below must be immediately released to their parents, guardian or nearest relative.

Otherwise, the child is entrusted to the Department of Social Welfare and Development or other registered nongovernment or religious organization, or barangay official.

SUSPENDED SENTENCE

Davide said the age limit must be amended to allow the filing of charges against the offending minor. He cited the Revised Penal Code that allows the temporary suspension of a sentence on minors until they reach legal age.

“There could be a suspension of sentence on minors found involved in criminal acts but when they reach the legal age, the sentence will be served.,” he said.

“It’s imperative that Congress should review that law,” he added.

Davide said it all boils down to good parenting and the responsibility of parents to set a good example to their children.

When a child commits a crime, he said their parents should also be held liable because “everything starts at home.”

“When you raise children and they lack discipline and proper instruction while growing up, there’s a big tendency that they’ll be involved in crimes, not just drugs but theft, robbery,” he explained.“

http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/39257/girl-14-delivers-shabu-worth-p5-9-million