ARRESTED FOR SHABU. The suspects (in white and red shirts) stand beside the ambulance as a police officer points to the vehicle’s faded red license plate. Two sachets of shabu were recovered from the suspects while passing through a police checkpoint in Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Maguindanao on Sunday (July 19, 2020). (Photo courtesy of Datu Anggal Midtimbang MPS)
COTABATO CITY – Acting on a tip, police arrested a driver and a helper of a Maguindanao town rescue ambulance at a police checkpoint on Sunday for possession of illegal drugs.
Major Michael Tinio, chief of the Datu Anggal Midtimbang municipal police, identified the two as Mohaimen Ali, 32, the ambulance driver, and helper Hassan Datumanong, 34, both of Barangay Poblacion, Parang, Maguindanao.
“The police were earlier tipped that two men on board an ambulance had prohibited drugs traveling from Talitay town to Datu Anggal Midtimbang, prompting them to remain on alert,” Tinio told reporters here in an interview Monday.
As the rescue ambulance (White Nissan Urban SGX-763) of the Parang local government unit was flagged down at a checkpoint at 1 p.m., Tinio said one of the two men tossed something out of the window, prompting suspicions from the police.
“When verified, police checkpoint personnel saw in plain view two sachets of suspected shabu drugs on the ground,” he said.
Tinio said charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) are now being prepared against the suspects. (PNA)
