LAWMEN have arrested a farmer and seized around P680,000 worth of illegal drugs in a law enforcement operation in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, an official said Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Bryan Babang, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Zamboanga Peninsula director, identified the arrested suspect as alias Datz, 33, a resident of Payong village, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte.
Babang said Datz was arrested in a buy-bust around 3:20 p.m. Monday, August 3, in Tiguma village, Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur province.
Seized from Datz were around 100 grams of shabu packed in two knot-tied transparent plastic packs with a standard value of P680,000.
Also recovered were a motorcycle, a cellular phone, boodle money topped with one genuine P1,000 bill used as buy-bust money, plastic packaging materials, a paper bag used to contain the buy-bust money, and the suspect’s identification card.
The suspect will be charged with violation of Section 5 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Babang lauded the operating teams for another successful anti-drug operation and reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to dismantling illegal drug activities in Zamboanga Peninsula.
The anti-drug operation was launched by the PDEA operatives with the support of different police units. (SunStar Zamboanga)