WV’s No. 7 drug personality caught selling drugs in Aklan

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

A drug surrenderee ranked No. 7 in Western Visayas was caught selling illegal drugs following a buy-bust operation in the capital town of Kalibo.

Ricky Fuentes Yap, 56, native of Poblacion, Tangalan, Aklan sold a suspected sachet of shabu weighing one gram to a poseur buyer along Luis Barrios Street in Barangay Poblacion near a private hospital in exchange for P7,500 marked money.

The anti-drug operation was conducted by operatives of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at around 8:45 p.m. on February 22.

The suspect, ranked No. 7 in the list of drug personalities in the region, had been under surveillance after he voluntarily surrendered to the police in Tangalan, Aklan last year. But, Yap said he did not return again to drug selling.

“May informant tayo para makabili sa kanya..matinik siya.. nasa No. 7 sa priority list ang suspek sa region VI itong taon, binigyan namin siya ng prayoridad sa tulong din ng ating kapulisan,” said PDEA agent Fil Tangeris after the arrest of Yap.

“Nagmahal ang supply at ang demand ay kaunti. Galing sa Iloilo at Capiz ang supply ni Yap. Solo lang siya ang nadakip natin sa buy-bust,” he added.

During the body search, the suspect also yielded a bulk of shabu worth P35,000.

Yap, who ran but lost in his campaign for a Sangguniang Bayan seat in Tangalan, Aklan last May 2016, resisted the arrest during the buy-bust operation outside his house in Luis Barrios Street.  

"Gumagamit ako dati, matagal na at nakulong dati dahil sa drugs,” Yap claimed.

The suspect is facing charges for violations of Section 5 and 11 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The article was originally published by independent online blog Aklan Forum Journal. The unrestricted use in print or radio, publication and distribution of articles are allowed provided the original author and Aklan Forum Journal are credited.