Maguindanao del Norte operation nets P6.8-M shabu but peddler escapes

HOT ITEMS. Anti-narcotics agents counted 20 sachets found inside the sling bag of a suspected meth trader in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao del Norte on Tuesday. | PHOTO: PDEA-BARMM

COTABATO CITY – A suspected drug peddler slipped away from the hands of authorities but left behind a haul of illicit merchandise during a buy-bust operation on Tuesday in Sultan Mastura town, Maguindanao del Norte.

An agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) transacted with a certain Dhats who agreed to hand over the meth just along the national highway in Barangay Tapayan at 1 p.m.

“Upon the consummation of the transaction, the suspect sensed the presence of the apprehending team and ran towards nearby houses,” said PDEA-BARMM regional director Gil Cesario Castro.

READ: Couple with P3.4 million worth of ‘shabu’ nabbed in Maguindanao del Norte

A hot pursuit ensued with PDEA agents backed by the police and soldiers of the Army and Marines.

Castro said the suspect fired upon the law enforcers, triggering a brief gunfight which also gave him time to maneuver an escape.

The suspect left behind a sling bag containing 20 plastic sachets of crystalline substance believed to be meth, all weighing a kilo, and estimated to be worth P6.8 million.

Castro said cases for violation of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, will be filed against “Dhats.”

Four days earlier, PDEA agents busted a police officer and his woman companion, seizing over P4 million worth of meth in Cotabato City.