P1.7M worth of shabu seized in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY — Anti-narcotics operatives arrested a suspected big-time drug dealer here and seized from him an estimated P1.7 million worth of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

Director Juvenal Azurin of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM) said Esrael Mamalangka, 36, a resident of Talayan, Maguindanao but residing temporarily in Barangay Rosary Heights 10 in this city, was arrested around 3 p.m. along Don Rufino Alonzo Avenue.

Seized from Mamalangka were four huge sachets of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride with an estimated market value of P1.7 million, a pouch, the suspect’s wallet, a mobile phone, and a motorbike.

The suspect was arrested after he handed over some P130,000 worth of shabu to a buyer used by PDEA operatives in the buy-bust operation.

Authorities believe that Mamalangka belongs to a big-time drug syndicate operating in Maguindanao and nearby provinces.

Cotabato Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi lauded Azurin and the PDEA-ARMM operatives. The suspect is now detained at PDEA-ARMM. / ee