Digos drug war: Pusher nabbed

DIGOS CITY, Philippines—Police on Thursday arrested yet another suspected big-time pusher, who had been on their watch list for months now, Senior Superintendent Michael John Dubria, Davao del Sur police director said.

Dubria told Inquirer in a text message that the suspect, Joel Abalayan, 43, a resident of this city, also yielded a homemade .9 mm submachine gun aside from sachets of metamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, worth at least P50,000.

“As I have said, our intensified campaign is against the big ones,” he said.

Dubria said agents from the provincial anti-illegal drugs special operation task force (Paidsotf), under Senior Insp. De Quencio Pante, and the city police, led by Supt. Querubin Manalang, conducted a buy-bust operation on Abalayan.

“He yielded more sachets of shabu when frisked after the P1,000-marked money was recovered,” he said.

Dubria said charges are now being prepared against Abalayan. Eldie Aguirre, Inquirer Mindanao