Another terror group leader clamped down in Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 12 clamped down on a ranking remnant of the now defunct Dawlah Islamiya terror group in an anti-narcotics operation in Barangay Kayaga in Kabacan, Cotabato on Wednesday, June 17.

Officials of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade and units of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in eight towns in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area inside Cotabato told reporters on Thursday that the 45-year-old male suspect is among the few remaining leaders in the province of the Dawlah Islamiya, which has more than a thousand members in Central Mindanao who had pledged allegiance to the government, in batches, since 2019.

Charlene Magdurulang, regional director of PDEA 12, said on Thursday that the suspect was immediately detained by their agents and policemen after they found P34,000 worth of shabu in his hideout in Sitio Lumayong in Barangay Kayaga in Kabacan and they subjected him to an extensive search based on a warrant from a court.

The search operation was premised on reports by Moro and non-Moro community leaders in Kabacan about his peddling of shabu and marijuana in different barangays in the municipality.

Magdurulang said they are thankful to the residents of Barangay Kayaga and their local executives for helping the PDEA 12 plan the operation that led to the arrest of the suspect, to be prosecuted for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Municipal officials in Kabacan said among those who reported the suspect’s illegal activities to the PDEA 12 are his relatives by blood, enabling its agents and policemen to embark on the operation that resulted in his arrest.