ARRESTED. Four of five suspects caught by authorities in the act of sniffing shabu inside a suspected drug den owned by a couple in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Wednesday (Oct. 9, 2019). Seized from the fifth arrested suspect, the wife of a high-value target drug personality, were PHP170,000 worth of shabu and two hand grenades. (Photo courtesy of PDEA-BARMM)
SULTAN KUDDARAT, Maguindanao -- Anti-narcotics operatives on Wednesday arrested five people, including a woman, during a drug sting operation in Barangay Kabuntalan here, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) said.
PDEA-BARMM Director Juvenal Azurin said among those arrested was Lanie Datumanong Ali, the wife of a high-value target, Banoh Ali, the main subject of the operation.
“Banoh eluded arrest during the 5 a.m. operation, Azurin said.
He said the wife was arrested along with four others during the operation in Barangay Kabuntalan here.
The suspects were caught in the act of sniffing suspected shabu in an area identified as a drug den managed by Lanie Ali.
Azurin said the Sultan Kudarat municipal police is assisting PDEA to locate Banoh, who was carrying a black sling bag, which neighbors said contained a pistol and fragmentation grenades.
He said police and PDEA agents confiscated from the wife PHP170,000 worth of suspected shabu and two fragmentation grenades.
All arrested suspects were detained at the PDEA-BARMM custodial facility in Cotabato City.
Azurin said the five will be charged for violating Republic Act (RA) 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), with Ali’s wife facing additional charges for violation of RA 9156 (Illegal Possession of Explosives). (With reports from Noel Punzalan/PNA)
