GOVERNMENT operatives have arrested a village official and a high-value target (HVT) as anti-drug operations continue in Zamboanga Peninsula, the police reported Thursday, May 20.

Police Brigadier General Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula director, identified the arrested village official as Mursidi Hassan, 42, and the HVT as Mark John Entana.

Ylagan said Hassan was arrested in a buy-bust operation around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, in Barangay Boalan, Talusan.

Hassan, a councilor in Boalan village, had been under surveillance prior to the launch of the anti-drug operation.

Confiscated from his possession were P1,447 worth of shabu and P500 marked money.

Entana, on the other hand, has been listed as the number 10 drug personality. He was nabbed in a drug bust Wednesday in Purok Gumamela, Taway village, Ipil, the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Seized from Entana were P2,000, a cellular phone, and P500 marked money.

Charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 will be filed against the arrested suspects, said Ylagan. (SunStar Zamboanga)