Cotabato village council aspirant nabbed for 'shabu' possession

COTABATO CITY -- A candidate for village council member was arrested by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives during an anti-drug operation early Friday.

Government forces recovered from Aladdin Matabalao Darping a total of 83 sachets of shabu with an estimated market value of PHP102,000, bank documents, and shabu paraphernalia.

Juvenal Azurin, regional director of PDEA in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM), said anti-narcotics operatives, backed by soldiers and police personnel, arrested Darping, a former village chair who is currently running for kagawad in Barangay Kalanganan Mother, at his residence in Sitio Kapinpilan in the same village at about 1 a.m. Friday.

Azurin said the operation was conducted after two weeks of surveillance operations against Darping who did not resist when lawmen presented him the search warrant issued by a local court.

The suspect is currently detained at the PDEA-ARMM lock-up and is facing charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act).

Darping's arrest came a day after police and military personnel arrested another candidate for village council, Haakon Blah Michael Sinsuat, for illegal possession of firearms.

Authorities seized a .45-caliber pistol from Sinsuat who is also running for barangay kagawad at Bagua 3, this city. (PNA)