Woman, pal nabbed in P6M shabu bust

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A woman from Metro Manila and her male companion were arrested in the P6-million shabu buy-bust operation Wednesday afternoon at the mountain village of Tiolas in San Joaquin town of Iloilo.

The two suspects were identified as Rasmia Abdullah Mustapa, 39, who hailed from Cotabato City but is now a resident of Barangay Culiat in Quezon City, and Jekerie Sepi, 38, of Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao district, Iloilo City.

Members of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office–Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, led by Senior Inspector John Ryan Doceo, recovered from the suspect a big sachet containing around one kilo of suspected shabu and the P181,000 marked money used in the buy-bust.

Doceo said the arrest of Mustapa and Sepi came after months of surveillance operations. Mustapa was the drug courier and Sepi was her local contact.

According to sources, a confidential agent transacted with a supplier at the National Bilibid Prison, and was asked to pay P181,000 for the shabu, with the remaining amount to be sent through bank. It was Mustapa who brought the shabu from Metro Manila via roll on-roll off going to Caticlan in Malay, Aklan.

From Aklan, she and Sepi passed by Antique Province before meeting up with supposed buyer in San Joaquin town.

“We did a series of test buys before we finally nailed them,” Doceo said, adding that Mustapa and Sepi may have been in the illegal trade in Panay Island for more than a year already.

Doceo revealed that Mustapa is affiliated with the group with links to the Paderog brothers, Dennis and Christopher, who the task group arrested at Pavia, Iloilo on April 28, last year, with the seizure also of P6 million worth of shabu, the biggest drug haul in Western Visayas at the time. (FREEMAN)