Police in Bohol province arrested eight suspects and seized more than PhP9.9 million pesos worth of methamphetamine in a string of buy-bust operations in at least seven municipalities from February 13 to 18, authorities said Saturday.
The biggest haul came Tuesday in Barangay Libaong, Panglao, where operatives from the Bohol Police Provincial Office’s Provincial Intelligence Unit and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit nabbed a 48-year-old businessman — flagged as a top-priority drug personality — and a 41-year-old associate from Tagbilaran City.
Police seized roughly 1,296.4 grams of suspected shabu valued at approximately P8.8 million pesos, along with a 9mm pistol, a loaded magazine and live ammunition.
Provincial Director Col. Patricio Degay Jr. called it one of the largest drug seizures in the province this year, adding that the recovery of a firearm from a drug suspect was “alarming and a serious threat to public safety.”
In a separate Panglao operation five days earlier, joint operatives from the Provincial Intelligence Unit, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bohol and the Panglao Municipal Police Station arrested a 45-year-old unemployed resident of Barangay Looc at around 1:09 a.m. on February 13 in Barangay Danao.
PNP confiscated about 27 grams of shabu valued at 183,600 pesos.
The suspect, listed as a street-level individual active in Panglao and neighboring towns, faces charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
In Dauis, police arrested two unemployed male suspects, aged 26 and 20, both residents of Barangay Biking, during a late-night sting in Purok 3, Barangay Tinago at around 11:13 p.m. on February 16, 2026.
Operatives confiscated approximately 33.5 grams of suspected shabu worth PhP227,800 pesos.
Degay, who commended the team, said it was a “sad truth” to see suspects in their early 20s entangled in drug crime, noting they should be living productive lives.
The following day, February 17, police conducted two simultaneous operations in different municipalities.
In Corella, officers from the Corella Municipal Police Station arrested a 37-year-old resident of Dauis, known by the alias “Tambok,” at about 3:30 a.m. in Purok 2, Barangay Sambog.
Seized from the suspect were 6.1 grams of suspected shabu valued at 41,480 pesos.
Hours later, in Sikatuna, the municipal police there collared a 21-year-old male student — also from Dauis — in Purok 3, Can-agong, at around 9:45 p.m.
Police recovered 3.7 grams of shabu valued at PhP25,160 pesos.
The two Dauis-based suspects caught in different municipalities on the same day underscored what authorities described as the increasingly cross-boundary nature of the local drug trade.
Also on February 17, the Calape Municipal Police Station arrested two men in Purok 5, Barangay Calunasan at about 5:03 p.m. — a 41-year-old unemployed man listed on the police drug watchlist, and a 27-year-old accomplice, also jobless and a Calape resident.
A total of 15.67 grams of suspected shabu worth PhP106,556 pesos was seized during the operation.
On February 18, 2026, police in Clarin arrested a 27-year-old resident of Calape — from a neighboring municipality — during a buy-bust in Sitio Cabasakan, Purok 2, Barangay Bacani.
Approximately 34.1 grams of suspected shabu valued at PhP231,880 pesos were seized.
Degay noted that the suspect’s origin from a different town illustrated how traffickers operate across jurisdictions to avoid detection.
On the same date, officers of the Tubigon Municipal Police Station nabbed a 38-year-old male resident known by the alias “Oxho” during a sting in Purok 1, Barangay Macaas at about 1:14 p.m.
Police seized 16.38 grams of suspected shabu valued at PhP111,384 pesos.
The operation was described as the result of intensified surveillance efforts targeting drug distribution in the municipality.
Also on February 18, 2026, the Talibon Municipal Police Station arrested a 19-year-old male student and resident of the town in Purok 1, Barangay Sto. Niño at about 8:54 p.m.
Authorities recovered approximately 7.8 grams of suspected shabu worth PhP53,040 pesos.
Degay said the suspect’s youth was a concern, but added the arrest could potentially spare the young man from “the long-term misfortunes and dangers” of a life in crime.
All suspects face charges for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which penalizes the sale and possession of dangerous drugs.
Seized drug evidence has been turned over to the Provincial Forensic Unit of the Bohol Police Provincial Office for laboratory examination.