BUSTED | Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Northern Mindanao Director Jigger Montallana (seated) presents on Monday businessman Arnel Asuncion, who yielded P27-million worth of drugs during an anti-drug operation last week. (JIGGER J. JERUSALEM / Inquirer Mindanao)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Philippines — A businessman from Davao Oriental province was arrested on Saturday in an anti-drug operation in Iligan City, where 4 kilograms of “shabu” (crystal meth) valued at P27 million was recovered from his possession.
Jigger Montallana, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Northern Mindanao, said Arnel Asuncion, 38, of Lupon town, Davao Oriental, had been on their radar for two months before he was caught during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Maria Cristina, Iligan City, on Saturday.
“The suspect is a high-value target. He has been on our radar for a long time,” Montallana told reporters during a press conference at the PDEA regional office here on Saturday.
He said the suspect, who arrived from Davao Oriental, got the drugs in Marawi City and was planning to drop it off in Cagayan de Oro City and other parts of the region.
Montallana said Asuncion was traveling alone in his blue Navara pickup truck when he agreed to meet up with PDEA agents who posed as buyers in Iligan City.
The PDEA Northern Mindanao chief said the agreement was for the suspect to provide the agents with a kilo of shabu for an upfront payment of P500,000, with the rest of the payment to be made later when the drugs were already sold.
Montallana said Asuncion could be part of a drug syndicate. He said they were now trying to trace other members of the group by going over the contents of the suspect’s cell phone and from the alleged drug dealer’s testimony to PDEA investigators.
He said the confiscation of the illegal drugs could mean a reduction in the drug supply entering Northern Mindanao.
Asuncion will be charged with violating Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, specifically section 5, for the transportation, trading and delivery of the alleged shabu that was taken from his possession during the buy-bust operation.
—JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
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