2 men nabbed for selling ecstasy, cocaine in Mandaluyong

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has arrested two men selling party drugs, including liquid ecstasy, and cocaine, in Mandaluyong.

According to a report by Mark Zambrano on Balitanghali, the PDEA Special Enforcement Service nabbed 35-year-old Lester Almalbez and Harold Peñaflor in a buy-bust operation in Princeville Condominium in Mandaluyong past 9 p.m. Thursday.

PDEA operatives discovered drugs worth P666,000 in the condominium unit.

This haul included six packs of cocaine worth P140,000, 70 ecstasy tablets worth P46,000, and 1.6 liters of liquid ecstasy hidden in 20 bottles of energy drinks that have a street value of P480,000.

The source of the said illegal drugs is still reportedly detained at the New Bilibid Prison.

The two suspects are facing charges of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and for sale and possession of dangerous drugs.

The PDEA said the sale of the newer and more dangerous form of liquid ecstasy—which could be mixed with cocaine or Viagra to make the effect stronger—may be rampant, especially in clubs and bars where minors could access it.

A cellphone video shot by suspect Almalbez himself shows a woman who had taken the drug kicking a wall as she was hit by seizures and involuntary muscle spasms, her speech likewise affected, a behavior described as “zombie-like.”

The report said drug personalities may also be using transport sharing rides.

The PDEA reminded parents to carefully watch over their children, given the emergence of the more potent, clear, and “virtually untraceable” liquid ecstasy in the market. A small overdose, the report said, may cause death.

Consuming 2 milliliters of the drug may lead to 20 to 30 minutes of seizures or even a loss of consciousness after half an hour, the report said.

Clubgoers, meanwhile, were reminded to open by themselves the bottles they would drink from, to make sure their drinks would not be spiked with the dangerous drug. —Nicole Ann Lagrimas/KBK, GMA News