3 arrested, P6.8-M shabu seized in MagNorte drug bust

COTABATO CITY - Three big-time drug peddlers were arrested, and some PHP6.8 million worth of shabu drugs were seized during a police entrapment in Maguindanao del Norte province on Friday afternoon. In an interview on Saturday, Lt. Colonel Esmael Madin, municipal police chief of Sultan Kudarat, identified the suspects as Esmael Bendong, Mantawil Saddam, and Usop Ampatuan, all from the province. Madin said the trio were under surveillance for two weeks until they agreed to sell the illegal drugs to an undercover agent in Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat. 'We started the transaction, and the handover was supposedly in Sultan Kudarat town, but suddenly, the suspects decided to move the trade-off to Datu Odin Sinsuat town around 3 p.m.,' he told reporters. Seized from the suspects were a kilo of shabu, a pickup vehicle, and the marked money. The suspects are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. It was the second big shabu haul by the Sultan Ku darat police in the same village in two months. On July 24, Madin and his men also entrapped high-value target Morsalon Tantong, 31, and seized from him PHP6.8 million worth of shabu. Madin said Tantong, who hails from Zamboanga del Sur, did not resist arrest, but his two cohorts escaped. Source: Philippines News agency