Police nab suspected drug lord in Bohol

BOHOL, Philippines—Police arrested a suspected drug lord and a cohort in a buy-bust operation on M. Torralba Street in Tagbilaran City on Friday night.

Lakai Panalo Akolan, 46, and Alex Pangandaman Abambar, 28, were detained at the Tagbilaran police station pending filing of charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Senior Insp. Ricardo Tero of the Bohol Police Provincial Police Office’s Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) said Akolan is a drug lord operating in Bohol and could be part of a major illegal drug syndicate.

Akolan admitted his involvement in the illegal activity, saying he started peddling drugs last year.

He said his illegal-drug stocks came from Marawi City. He, however, didn’t give further details on how the drugs were brought to Bohol province.

Tero said the drug bust operation was carried out after weeks of surveillance on the suspect’s illegal activities.

He said Akolan was inside his car together with Abambar and Akolan’s 15-year old son.

The two were arrested immediately after handing down a pack of shabu worth P1,000 to an operative who posed as a buyer at 8:45 p.m. on  Friday on M. Torralba Street, Poblacion 2, in this city.

A subsequent search on Akolan led to the recovery of two big packs of suspected shabu, five medium-sized sachets of suspected shabu and three small strips of suspected shabu valued at P300,000, said Tero. TVJ