AN ENTRAPMENT operation targeting a fraudulent gold transaction took an unexpected turn on Tuesday afternoon when police operatives caught two suspects from Bukidnon carrying both contraband and shabu.
The sting operation, executed at around 5:02 p.m. on May 19, 2026, took place at Purok 8, Barangay Buda, in the remote district of Marilog, Davao City.
Personnel from the Marilog Police Station (PS12), under the command of station commander PMAj. Raymundo B. Bacera Jr., orchestrated the bust after receiving intelligence regarding a “fake gold bar” transaction transpiring along the Davao-Bukidnon boundary.
The operation resulted in the arrest of live-in couple Janeth and Jarel, 29 and 36 years old, respectively, both farmers and residents of Purok 9, Sinuda, Kitaotao, Bukidnon.
According to the initial police report, the duo was caught red-handed attempting to sell a counterfeit gold bar to an undercover asset in exchange for a combination of genuine currency and marked “boodle” money. A body search yielded unexpected drugs hidden in their possession.
Authorities confiscated from the suspects one piece of an alleged counterfeit gold bar used in the estafa scheme, the boodle money, and two heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu weighing 0.64 grams.
They also seized the black Rusi 150cc motorcycle without a license plate and a blue Tecno Spark cellular phone, which will undergo forensic examination to uncover a potential criminal network.
The suspects, along with the seized vehicle and contraband, were subsequently transported to the Marilog Police Station. They face criminal charges for estafa (swindling) under the Revised Penal Code, alongside separate charges for Violation of Section 11 of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) for illegal possession of illegal drugs.
