Cops bust suspect bringing P1.36M in meth to Marawi

ILIGAN CITY——Police arrested on Sunday (March 8) a 32-year old man caught transporting suspected shabu, or crystal meth, at the village of Tampilong, Marawi City.

Col. Madzgani Mukaram, Lanao del Sur police director, said the suspect, Walid Nasser Usman, was intercepted at a checkpoint while driving a motorcycle.

Police said while Usman is a resident of Baloi, Lanao del Norte, his identification cards indicated Mipaga, Marawi City as his home address.

Operatives of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU) was pursuing Usman from Iligan City after receiving reports that he was transporting drugs to Marawi City.

Seized from Usman was around 200 grams of meth worth some P1.36 million, a driver’s license and an identification card indicating he is an employee of the Lanao del Sur Provincial Jail.

The Police Regional Office said Usman is a jail officer and was tagged as a high value target because he was a government employee.

Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, police regional information officer, said Usman had been under surveillance for a month.

But Mukaram said the provincial jail warden of Lanao del Sur denied Usman was among the jail’s employees, although his father used to be the jail’s computer analyst.

Mukaram added that if Usman’s jail identification card was fake, it was possible that he faked his driver’s license, too.

Usman is now detained at the Marawi City police station.

Edited by TSB