Promise of $22 in commission lures Filipino teens into drug trafficking
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Two out-of-school teenagers are looking at spending a big part of their productive years behind bars following their arrest in a drug bust in Marikina City on Tuesday night.
If found guilty of violating Republic Act No 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, “James”, a 16-year-old boy, and Angelo Bregira, 19, may be sentenced to up to 20 years in jail.
The two were arrested on Tuesday evening in Bregira’s house by members of the Station Anti-illegal Drugs-Special Operations Task Group (SAID-SOTG) led by inspector Jerry Flores in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
The police said the minor, whose parents were in Marawi City, had been under surveillance over the past four months. On Tuesday, they learned from a tipster that James was selling illegal drugs in the house he was sharing with Bregira.
According to authorities, Bregira’s house is owned by his mother, who has since moved to Quezon City.
Investigator Manuel Diquit said they recovered from James a sachet believed to contain “shabu” or methamphetamine hydrochloride that he sold to an undercover policeman. Also found in his possession was a small envelope containing two more sachets of suspected drugs.
Diquit told the Inquirer that the teenagers did not resist when they were arrested. James and Bregira said that they were lured into the drug trade because in a single transaction, they could earn a commission of at least 1,000 pesos (US$22), he added.
He said the two had been working together for some time, with Bregira telling the police that he acted as James’ runner in his drug transactions.
Police have yet to find the parents of the two teenagers. James was taken to the city’s social welfare office, while Bregira remained in detention at the Marikina police station.
Diquit, meanwhile, said that they were “determined to capture the mastermind of the illegal drug trade preying on minors in Marikina City”.
He added that they were unlikely to get information from other drug traffickers as they were afraid of retaliation. To prevent students and out-of-school youth from getting hooked on drugs, Diquit said they would be intensifying their anti-drug campaign in schools and villages.
