Son of retired general nabbed with P29.9-M ‘shabu’ in Zamboanga

NABBED. Authorities arrest the son of a retired police general (seated in red sweater) during an anti-drug operation in Barangay Divisoria, Zamboanga City, on Monday (Nov. 18, 2024). Seized from the suspect were illegal drugs valued at P29.9 million. (Photo courtesy of PRO-9)

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Authorities arrested the son of a retired police general and confiscated about P29.9 million worth of illegal drugs during an anti-drug operation in this city on Monday.

The Police Regional Office in Zamboanga Peninsula (PRO-9) identified the suspect as Ashraf Kayzar Ikbala, 40, a resident of Aurora Village, Barangay Tumaga here.

Ikbala was apprehended in a buy-bust operation at 11:05 a.m. at Sitio Palawan, Zone 2, Barangay Divisoria. The operation, conducted by joint police forces, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and Naval Intelligence and Security Group-Western Mindanao, resulted in the seizure of more than four kilos of suspected shabu packed in transparent plastic bags.

Police said Ikbala is the son of a retired police general who served as the Philippine National Police’s Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development in 2010.

Ikbala is currently detained at the Zamboanga City Police Office while awaiting the filing of charges for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Records show Ikbala was arrested in January 2019 for possession of P100,000 worth of illegal drugs during an operation in Aurora Village Subdivision, Barangay Tumaga. He was also linked to two drug-related cases filed against him in 2018, leading to an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

In a separate operation on Sunday, authorities apprehended two suspects at a motel in Barangay Canelar. The suspects, a 38-year-old male jeepney conductor and a 35-year-old female vendor, were found with about 100 grams of suspected shabu valued at P680,000.

Both suspects are in police custody pending formal charges. (PNA)