AUTHORITIES have arrested two high-value target (HVTs) suspects and seized P1.7 million worth of illegal drugs in an anti-drug operation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
PDEA-Barmm Director Gil Cesario Castro identified the two arrested HVT suspects as Nungga Abdila alias Nungga Abatingga, 32, and Amir Usman, 31.
They were nabbed in a drug bust launched by joint PDEA and police operatives along the national highway in Makir village, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, on Monday, March 11.
Seized from Abdila and Usman were 250 grams of shabu packed in five heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets worth P1.7 million, a motorcycle, a cellular phone, and buy-bust money.
Castro said the arrested suspects were detained at the detention facility of PDEA-Barmm in preparation for the filing of case against them for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
He said the two suspects' area of illegal drug trafficking and distribution covers the nearby towns of Maguindanao, Cotabato City, and as far as General Santos City.
The suspects' arrest has a significant impact on the disruption of the drug supply chain in Barmm and neighboring provinces and cities, he added. (SunStar Zamboanga)