In Digos, war on drugs grips execs, cops

Shabu. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

DIGOS CITY—Mayor Joseph Peñas on Thursday agreed with observations that the city has become the transshipment point for methamphetamine hydrochloride, or “shabu.”

Speaking to reporters following Wednesday’s arrest of five more drug suspects here, Peñas said he could not deny that the city has become lucrative for drug traffickers.

“This is because we are so strategically located and we are the gateway to some major cities in Mindanao,” the mayor said.

The arrested suspects yielded at least P900,000 worth of shabu and firearms.

Senior Supt. Michael John Dubria, provincial police director, said the shipment of drugs that pass through the city come from North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces.

“It is still inconclusive but we suspect that a big-time syndicate is based in any of these provinces,” he said.

Supt. Querubin Manalang, city police director, said that in August alone, nine persons had been arrested for drug trafficking.

They include the five suspects arrested during a raid by police in Barangay Matti on Wednesday.

Chief Insp. Dave Mejia, head of the provincial unit of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said the arrested suspects—Gabby Umambas, Salahudin Salaman, couple Guiamaludin Adam and Camaria Adam, and Rosemarie Baran—were under surveillance for eight months.

“It was as if we played hide and seek because they were so elusive,” said Mejia.

Davao del Sur Governor Claude Bautista said Wednesday’s drug bust proved the importance of coordination among law enforcers.

“The drug problem is so huge that we would fail if the various police units had acted independently,” he said.

Bautista also urged residents of the province to cooperate with authorities to minimize, if not eradicate, the drug problem. “Our authorities cannot do it alone,” he said. Eldie Aguirre, Inquirer Mindanao