2 alleged drug peddlers arrested, P1.02-M worth of shabu seized

DATU ODIN SINSUAT, MAGUINDANAO – Anti-narcotics operatives, backed by soldiers from the 90th Infantry Battalion, arrested two men, seized a pistol and more than P1 million worth of illegal drugs during a drug buy-bust operation at the public market here on Wednesday.

Juvenal Azurin, regional director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Unit in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM), said the buy-bust led to the arrest of Datunot Abdul Manunggal, a fish vendor and resident of Cotabato City, and Odin Amba Talipasan, 49, a chainsaw operator from Barangay Dalican here.

“Both suspects are high-value targets,” Azurin told reporters. “They belong to a bigger illegal drug syndicate.”

He said it took them a month to finally capture the two suspects.

Seized were three huge sachets of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as shabu; a cal. 45 pistol with ammunition and a motorbike.

The two did not resist arrest.

Charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) and RA 10591 (Illegal Possession of Firearms) were being prepared against the suspects now detained at PDEA-ARMM custodial facility.