19 armed men allegedly involved in drugs arrested in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines– Joint Army and anti-narcotics operatives arrested 19 armed men believed to be engaged in big-time illegal drug activities in a coastal town of Maguindanao on Wednesday.

Thirteen firearms were also seized from the suspects during the operation conducted in the villages of Barangay Tapian and Kusiong in Datu Odin Sinsuat town around 5:20 a.m., according to Lt. Col. Zosimo Oliveros, the commander of the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion.

Oliveros said his men and operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM) under regional director Edgar Apalla conducted the operation following verified information.

Among those arrested were the suspected leaders identified only as Commander Biente and Commander Lawin.

It was not clear what group the armed men belonged to but they were heavily armed, Oliveros said.

Among the firearms recovered were four M-16 Armalite rifles, including one with an M-203 launcher, two M-14 rifles, a Browning Automatic Rifle, six 45- caliber pistols, ammunition magazine, and one-and-a-half kilo of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” packed in sachets of various sizes.

Apalla said charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and Republic Act 10591—or illegal possession of firearms and explosives—were now being prepared against the suspects. TVJ

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