MANILA -- Authorities seized an estimated PHP54.4 million worth of shabu and arrested three suspects in a buy-bust operation in Caloocan City on Monday.
National Capital Police Region Office (NCRPO) director, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar said the operatives of Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU-NCRPO) arrested the suspects Nasrudin Mantikayan alias 'Buts' and his two cohorts, Ibrahim Hassan and Ampal Pala, while in the act of selling two kilos of shabu worth PHP5 million to an undercover police agent who acted as buyer around 10:30 a.m. at the parking lot of Victory Mall, 12th Ave., Grace Park.
Law enforcement operatives also seized another eight big zip lock bags containing around one kilo of shabu each, several deposit slips indicating remittance of the proceeds from the sale of shabu and a white Mitsubishi four-door Sedan with conduction sticker BO K659, used in the delivery of the contraband.
He said the buy-bust operation is an offshoot of a series of anti-drug operations which resulted in the seizure of 10 kilos of shabu.
The suspects are residents of Zamboanga del Sur, Maguindanao and Cotabato, and are operating in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and Metro Manila.
Eleazar said they were the subject of four-month intensive and continuous surveillance operations.
“They belong to a Muslim group whom we are watching. However, we will locate the source of this and then trace it to other groups which they used to operate. They were from Cotabato and they have bosses from Cotabato who will be the subject of our follow-up operation," Eleazar told reporters.
The NCRPO chief said they have yet to verify whether the contraband came from another country, noting that they will coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency regarding this matter.
Meanwhile, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde commended the NCRPO for the successful operation and their continuous campaign against illegal drugs.
“First of all, we'd like to commend the NCRPO for this big shabu haul. This is a proof that our campaign against illegal drugs is relentless. Though it appears that they are from Cotabato, it seems that they have been here in Metro Manila for quite some time. It seems they are runners. What they say is they have a boss. There is this case when the father is in jail, but his son is the one in charge of the drug trade. They are also from Cotabato,” Albayalde told reporters.
The suspects will be charged with violation of selling dangerous drugs (Section 5), Article II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (PNA)
