THE case against a suspected member of the 14-K international drug syndicate was raffled off to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 9.
Based on the list of raffled cases from the RTC Office of the Clerk of Court, the case against Marco Kadir Bua, a former councilor of Mother Kabuntalan in Maguindanao will be tried before the sala of RTC Branch 9 Judge Carlos Espero II.
Bua is facing charges for violation of the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 after he along with his wife Zenia were arrested at their residence at St. Michael Village in Ma-a on March 15 wherein authorities implemented the warrant of arrest issued by RTC Branch 18 Cotabato City Judge George Jabido.
Recovered from the possession of the couple was a sachet of shabu weighing around 51.38 grams worth around P425,000.
But while the City Prosecution Office has found probable cause to charge Marco for possession of illegal drugs, Prosecutor Victoriano Bello Jr. found no grounds to hold Zenia liable for any criminal charge. Zenia was then ordered released on April 21.
Espero, on the other hand, has yet to schedule the arraignment of Marco.
It was earlier reported that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) tagged Marco as a member of the 14-K international drug syndicate while Zenia was the alleged leader of the Bua drug group allegedly responsible for the selling of illegal drugs across Mindanao.