5 arrested, P3.57M worth of suspected shabu seized in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY – Operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) and police authorities arrested five people in separate anti-drug operations in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte a day before the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.

PDEA-BARMM regional director Edgar T. Jubay said the state forces recovered a total of P3.57 million worth of suspected shabu in the operations.

In Barangay Kanguan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, a 32-year-old man identified only as alias “Toy” was arrested in a buy-bust drive.

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READ: Nearly P700,000 shabu seized from 2 Sultan Kudarat drug suspects

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He yielded 10 heat-sealed sachets containing shabu worth P3.4 million, buy-bust money, and a mobile phone.

Jubay said the PDEA-BARMM conducted the operation with personnel from the Datu Piang Municipal Police Station, the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Intelligence Unit, Regional Intelligence Unit 15, and the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion.

In Barangay Sarmiento, Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, four other suspects were arrested after authorities dismantled an alleged drug den during a buy-bust operation.

Police identified the arrested suspects through their aliases “Dopol”, 50, the alleged drug-den maintainer; “Nonoy,” 48; “Jerry,” 55; and “Ronald,” 40, all residents of Barangay Sarmiento.

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Authorities seized 19 sachets of suspected shabu weighing approximately 25 grams and valued at P170,000.

Also recovered were buy-bust money, drug paraphernalia, an identification card, and a cellphone.

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The five suspects are now in the custody of the PDEA-BARMM jail facility as authorities prepare charges for violations of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002./coa