Zamboanga city: Narcotics operatives have arrested an individual and seized illegal drugs with an estimated street value of PHP6.8 million in an anti-drug operation here, an official said Tuesday. Ryan Babang, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) director, identified the arrested suspect as alias Almisal, a resident of this city.
According to Philippines News Agency, the suspect was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Sinunuc, 8 km. west of the city hall, at about 7:06 p.m. Monday. Seized from Almisal was 1 kg. of suspected shabu packed in a gold tea pack labeled Guanyinwang, along with the buy-bust money.
The PDEA, with police support, launched the anti-drug operation after days of surveillance on the suspect's illicit activity. The arrested suspect is now detained pending the filing of charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Babang said the anti-drug campaign is targeting the sources of illegal drugs and aiming to dismantle distribution networks in the Zamboanga Peninsula. He noted that last month, authorities seized more than PHP1.1 billion worth of illegal drugs in the region. The biggest drug haul for August, worth PHP605.2 million, was in Barangay Rio Hondo on Aug. 31.
