4 men yield P70M ‘shabu’ in Dasmariñas mall buy-bust

MANILA, Philippines — Around 11 kilograms of suspected shabu or crystal meth valued at P70.4 million were seized from four suspects, including two African nationals, during a buy-bust operation inside a mall in Dasmariñas, Cavite, on Tuesday afternoon.

Information from the Philippine National Police’s Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) said the operation conducted with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) stemmed from intelligence reports on the rampant distribution of shabu in the area.

The suspects, identified as Mohammand Akil Esmail and Saimen Esmail, both Filipino citizens residing at Datu Esmael in Dasmariñas; and Nigerian Clement Jnr Nwachukwu and Botswana citizen Starboi Nwachukwu were caught exchanging the illegal substances in the Dasmariñas mall.

The two African nationals, whose residence in the Philippine is in Upper Central Bicutan, Taguig City, were spotted inside a Hyundai Kona with a conduction sticker code K1 C854, while the Filipinos were seen aboard a Honda City sedan with license plate number UUO-236.

PNP-DEG said the pieces of evidence were marked in front of the Dasmariñas City Police Station’s team leader, Department of Justice representatives, and other barangay officials.

Suspects were brought to the PNP-DEG office in Camp Crame, Quezon City, for further investigation and proper disposition, in order for cases to be filed.