COTABATO CITY — Three individuals were apprehended, and illegal drugs valued at PHP6.8 million were confiscated during a police operation in Maguindanao del Norte province on Friday afternoon.
According to the Philippines News Agency, Lt. Colonel Esmael Madin, the municipal police chief of Sultan Kudarat, identified the suspects as Esmael Bendong, Mantawil Saddam, and Usop Ampatuan, all residents of the province. The trio had been under surveillance for two weeks and was caught selling to an undercover agent in Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat. “We started the transaction, and the handover was supposedly in Sultan Kudarat town, but suddenly, the suspects decided to move the trade-off to Datu Odin Sinsuat town around 3 p.m.,” Madin explained.
During the operation, authorities seized one kilogram of shabu (methamphetamine), a pickup vehicle, and the marked money used in the sting. The suspects are now facing charges under Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
This arrest marks the second significant drug haul in the same village within two months. On July 24, Madin and his team entrapped another high-value target, Morsalon Tantong, 31, from Zamboanga del Sur, seizing an identical amount of shabu valued at PHP6.8 million. Madin noted that while Tantong did not resist arrest, his two accomplices managed to escape.