3 suspects nabbed in Central Mindanao drug stings

COTABATO CITY— Police seized P68,000 worth of shabu from three dealers during separate entrapment operations in this city and South Cotabato province on Tuesday, July 22. One dealer is linked to a local terror group, while the other two are implicated in motorcycle thefts.

The first arrest in the two anti-narcotics operations was Datu Mama Talisan Kasim, who was caught by personnel from the Cotabato City Police Office and its unit, Cotabato City Police Precinct 3, in Barangay Tamontaka 4.

Army and police intelligence officials told reporters on Thursday, July 24, that Kasim shared a portion of his earnings with the now-weakened Dawlah Islamiya, which is known for providing sanctuary to wanted criminals in isolated areas of Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte in exchange for money.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said Kasim was immediately cuffed by non-uniformed policemen, jointly supervised by Cotabato City’s police director, Col. Jibin Bongcayao, and Capt. Jonathan Van Encabo of the Cotabato City Police Station 3, after selling to them P34,000 worth of shabu during a tradeoff in a secluded area in Barangay Tamontaka 4.

Local leaders said Kasim was also involved in extortion activities of the allies, Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Combined personnel from the Koronadal City Police Office and the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office arrested two shabu peddlers last Tuesday, who are reportedly involved in a series of motorcycle thefts across various towns in South Cotabato, Region 12.

Local officials in Koronadal City told reporters that suspects Oliver Domondon Mayo and his accomplice Ariane Octaviano Fernandez are now detained and will face prosecution for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Members of different municipal peace and order councils in South Cotabato and community leaders in Koronadal City in Region 12 told reporters on Thursday that Mayo and Fernandez both belong to a group of motorcycle thieves operating in different towns in the province.

They were clamped down after they sold P34,000 worth of shabu to plainclothes policemen in Purok Lower Cadidang in Barangay San Jose in Koronadal City during an entrapment operation planned with the help of tipsters aware of their drug trafficking activities.