AUTHORITIES arrested four individuals and seized some P6.8 million worth of illegal drugs in separate anti-drug operations in the provinces of Sulu and Maguindanao del Sur, officials said Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Authorities identified the arrested suspects by their aliases as Jul, 36; Mors, 21; Aris, 40; and Dats, 43.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Francis Briones, chief of police of Indanan, Sulu, said Jul and Mors were arrested in a buy-bust operation around 9:40 p.m. on Monday, March 23, in Buansa village, Indanan.
Briones said the two suspects, tagged as high-value individuals (HVIs), were arrested after they sold a sachet of suspected shabu to an undercover policeman.
He said authorities seized about 500 grams of substance believed to be shabu packed in 10 heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets worth P3.4 million, along with four bundles of boodle money topped with one genuine P1,000 bill, a mobile phone, a sling bag, and a motorcycle.
The suspects are now under the custody of the Indanan Municipal Police Station in preparation for the filing of charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Briones said the anti-drug operation was launched following a series of surveillance operations on the suspects’ alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.
The Indanan police conducted the operation with the support of other police units and in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Sulu.
Meanwhile, the PDEA in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said Aris and Dats were arrested in a separate buy-bust operation on Monday, March 23, in Kauran village, Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
The PDEA-BARMM said confiscated during the operation were about 500 grams of suspected shabu packed in 10 heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets worth P3.4 million, two mobile phones, buy-bust money, one belt bag, one identification card (ID) holder, and two ID cards.
Charges for violation of Section 5 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 will be filed against the suspects.
The operation was conducted by the PDEA Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Office, with support from other PDEA units, police personnel, and troops from the 90th Infantry Battalion. (SunStar Zamboanga)