A SUSPECTED illegal drug pusher is facing jail for the second time following his arrest over a drug bust operation conducted by police authorities on Wednesday afternoon.
Police Chief Inspector Ariel Phillip Pontillas, Agora Police Station chief, identified the suspect as Amad Akmad, 33, a resident of Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental.
Pontillas said Akmad was arrested before with the same case, but was freed because of weak evidence against him.
A five-minute firefight ensued in Barangay 31 on Wednesday before Agora station policemen and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Northern Mindanao (PDEA) captured the suspect.
Police Chief Inspector Pontillas said Akmad's cohorts fired at them to escape.
"Samtang nagdagan sila, kamulo pud sila pamusil sa amo," Pontillas said, adding that the suspect's two other cohorts identified only as "Mike" and "Maro" escaped.
Recovered from the suspects were 15 sachets of suspected shabu (crystal meth), 14 bullets and three empty shells of a .38 caliber pistol.