Drug den operator, 3 cohorts busted in Cotabato City operation

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency arrested a drug den operator and his three accomplices in an entrapment operation in Barangay Rosary Heights 9, Cotabato City on Wednesday afternoon, March 26.

Gil Cesario Castro, director of PDEA-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, told reporters on Thursday, March 27, that that the suspects were immediately detained after selling to their agents and policemen P102,000 worth of shabu during a tradeoff in Purok Siyete in Barangay Rosary Heights 9.

Castro said the operation that resulted in their arrest was assisted by policemen under units led by Col. Jibin Bongcayao, director of the Cotabato City police, and members of the 5th Marine Battalion.

Castro said they are to use the shabu seized from the four suspects as evidence in prosecuting them for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

PDEA-BARMM agents and policemen, under Bongcayao, found drug sniffing paraphernalia in their drug den, now closed and guarded by barangay officials and volunteer community watchmen.