Lanao village councilor, 2 others arrested; P6.8-M ‘shabu’ seized

COTABATO CITY – Anti-narcotics operatives, backed by Maguindanao police, have arrested three men, including a village councilor, and seized about P6.8 million worth of shabu.

Juvenal Azurin, regional director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM), told the INQUIRER that Ronnie Maruhom, a village councilor, Risoli Maruhom and Samsudin Kamid were arrested during a buy-bust in front of a gas station in Barangay Poblacion Parang, Maguindanao at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. All the arrested persons were residents of Malabang, Lanao del Sur.

Seized from the suspects were one kilo of alleged shabu with an estimated market value of P6.8 million, a Toyota RAV 4, and a paper bag that contained the “boodle money” amounting to P2 million.

“They have been within our radar for the past few weeks, we build up intelligence information and pounced on them Thursday,” Azurin said, adding that his office is verifying and validating information on the affiliation of the three suspects. /kga