2 drug den operators arrested in separate PDEA-BARMM operations

COTABATO CITY — Anti-narcotics agents arrested seven alleged shabu dealers and closed down their drug dens in separate operations in two towns in Central Mindanao within two days.

Combined agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and operatives from different units of the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office first arrested four men on Saturday, October 3, after they allegedly sold P105,400 worth of shabu to undercover agents at their drug den in Barangay Dalumangcob, Sultan Kudarat.

George Paul Alcovindas, director of PDEA-BARMM, told reporters on Monday that their entrapment operation in Barangay Dalumangcob in Sultan Kudarat, was launched based on reports from friends and relatives of the four suspects regarding their alleged illegal activities in the municipality. The operation was supported by the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Aside from allegedly operating a clandestine drug den in Barangay Dalumangcob in Sultan Kudarat, one of the 12 towns in Maguindanao del Norte, the four suspects were also reportedly involved in the distribution of shabu and marijuana in Cotabato City and nearby barangays in Cotabato province. 

The PDEA-BARMM entrapment operation in Sultan Kudarat, the capital town of Maguindanao del Norte, came a day after three alleged shabu dealers operating a drug den were arrested on Friday, October 2, in Barangay Upper Labas in Midsayap, Cotabato. The suepects were also reportedly selling their illegal merchandise in barangays within the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in the province.

Alcovindas said PDEA-BARMM agents, personnel from different PRO-BAR units, officers from the Midsayap Municipal Police Station and officials of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion cooperated in the entrapment operation, which resulted in the immediate detention of the three suspects.

All three were immediately frisked and handcuffed by PDEA-BARMM agents and police after they allegedly sold seven grams of shabu worth ?47,600 during a tradeoff in Barangay Upper Labas. The operation was carried out with the assistance of municipal officials in Midsayap, one of the 17 towns in Cotabato province.