COTABATO CITY –– Anti-narcotics operatives arrested Wednesday two drug peddlers and seized P6.8 million worth of suspected crystal meth or shabu in a buy-bust operation in Marawi City.
Director Juvenal Azurin of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Bangsamoro region, said the operation was done around 11:30 a.m. by joint operatives of the PDEA and the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, 82nd Infantry Battalion and the local police.
Azurin identified the arrested suspects as Jaman Tocalo of Iligan City and Mhajir Samad of Maguing, Lanao del Sur.
“They were listed as among our high-value targets,” Azurin told reporters here.
Azurin said the suspects agreed to sell P1.6 million worth of crystal meth to an undercover agent, and the exchange was agreed to be in front of the Mindanao State University Commercial Center in Barangay Dinalma, Marawi City.
The suspects were immediately arrested after they handed over some 1,000 grams of shabu to the poseur-buyer and received the money, Azurin said.
Apart from the inventory of illicit drugs, also seized from the suspects were driver’s licenses and a motorbike they used in their illegal activities.
Azurin said the duo will be charged for violating Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.