Cops collar student for allegedly selling shabu

Koronadal City — Joint operatives of the Koronadal City police and the 1204th Police Provincial Mobile Group (PPMG) arrested Wednesday afternoon an 18-year-old student for allegedly selling illegal drugs and seized from him six large sachets of alleged shabu.

Reports from the city police named the suspect as Ebrahim Mantorino, 18, a student of the Regency Polythecnic College and a resident of Mabini street in Cotabato City.

Mantorino was arrested around 5 p.m. yesterday in one of the streets in Barangay General P. Santos, this city.

The city police and 1204th PPMG teams, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), confiscated from Mantorino six large sachets, containing crystal things believed to be "shabu."

Also recovered from the suspect’s possession were P1,000 cash believed to be the proceeds of his illegal drug trade in the area and five pieces of P100 bill used by the police as "marked money" in entrapping him.

Authorities are still determining the worth of the alleged shabu confiscated from the suspect.

SP03 Renato Ramos, team leader of the entrapment operation, said they immediately nabbed the suspect after he handed over two alleged large sachets of shabu to their "asset."

Ramos said when they searched the body of the suspect, they found another four large sachets, believed to be containing shabu.

He said the arrest of the suspect is part of the order of South Cotabato police director Senior Supt. Getulio Napeñas for them to conduct an intensified operation against illegal drugs in this city and the entire province.

Charges of violation of Section 5 and 11, Article II of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are being prepared against the suspect. — Ramil Bajo