A Japanese businessman and two Filipinos were arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted by the Southern Police Operation District - Drug Enforcement Unit (SPD-DEU) in Makati City on Tuesday afternoon.

Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr., SPD police director, said the Japanese suspect is Haruhisa Nakamura, 52.

Other suspects arrested were Mervin Bien Villanueva, 20, a resident of 7A Kaliatasan St., Brgy. 72, Zone 4, Pasay City and Abbygail Abubakar, 16, a resident of 12 Ignacio St., Brgy., 73, Zone 10, Pasay City.

Apolinario did not give details of the arrest but he said the suspects were nabbed in a buy-bust at 106 10th Floor Virra 1 Condominium in P. Burgos St., Brgy Poblacion, Bel-Air, Makati City around 5pm.

He said Nakamura, now detained at the Southern Police District Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, is an owner of a manpower entertainment agency in Japan.

In an interview with the Daily Manila Shimbun, Nakamura claimed his arrest was a set-up, as a Filipina (connected to police) asked him to buy some amount of illegal drugs.

Nakamura said Abubakar and her boyfriend Villanueva went in his condominium to deliver the illegal drugs that he bought for P2,000 when police arrested them.

Apolinario said during the operation the police confiscated two pieces of small transparent plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu and two pieces of one thousand pesos buy bust money.

“The estimated weight of the recovered sachets is approximately 1.4 grams the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) value of which is more or less P6,000,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS