6 drug den operators busted by PDEA-BARMM

COTABATO CITY— Anti-narcotics agents arrested six men operating a drug den during an entrapment operation in Barangay Poblacion 2, Cotabato City, on Thursday, August 7.

The sting, carried out with the help of Muslim and Christian barangay officials and Mayor Mohammad Ali Matabalao, chairperson of the multi-sectoral Cotabato City Peace and Order Council, led to the confiscation of P68,000 worth of shabu from the six suspects, who are now detained and awaiting prosecution.

Gil Cesario Castro, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, told reporters on Friday, August 8, that the six suspects were immediately detained by PDEA-BARMM agents and plainclothes policemen after selling 10 grams of shabu during an entrapment operation in the premises of their drug den in Barangay Poblacion 2, Cotabato City.

Barangay officials confirmed to reporters that the suspects had been operating a drug den in Poblacion 2, which was immediately shut down by combined PDEA-BARMM agents and police operatives under Cotabato City police director Col. Jibin Bongcayao. The site is now being secured by volunteer community watchmen.

Castro expressed gratitude to various units of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, which has jurisdiction over Cotabato City, for their support in the operation. The raid led to the arrest of six suspects who facilitated drug sessions in their den, selling shabu and marijuana to contacts in nearby barangays.