AUTHORITIES have arrested two top regional priority targets in the campaign against illegal drugs in a separate buy-bust operation in Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) in Northern Mindanao arrested a 41-year-old male, who was tagged as the fifth in the top 10 regional priority targets, at Zone 8-A in Barangay Cugman, this city.
According to the region's Police Regional Office (PRO), the man was apprehended after the poseur buyer bought from the suspect one elongated heat-sealed suspected shabu for P1,000.
The man was previously arrested twice for the same offence and had served sentences both.
Seized from the suspect were four elongated sizes of heat-sealed transparent sachets containing a white crystalline substance believed to be shabu weighing around one gram estimated to be worth P6,800.
On the same day, a 36-year-old male, tagged as tenth in the top 10 regional priority targets, was arrested in Piaping Itum in Barangay Macabalan, this city.
The PRO reported that the man got his illegal drugs in several places in Cagayan de Oro, particularly in Barangays Canitoan, Calaanan, and Macabalan, through meetups.
"The arrest of these individuals is indeed a manifestation of our relentless campaign against illegal drugs in the region," PRO-Northern Mindanao Director Police Brigadier General Ricardo Layug Jr. said.
"I hope this sends a message to everyone that involvement in any kind of illegal activity, especially in illegal drugs, is a grave offense and should be punished in accordance with existing law," he added.
The regional director also encouraged the public to report any incidents or illegal activities in their area to the nearest police stations or through the police's hotline numbers.