Ex-MILF member, 26 others nabbed for P2 million shabu

MANILA, Philippines — An alleged former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) member and 26 others were arrested and at least P2.04 million worth of shabu were seized in stings in Metro Manila on Monday.

Kasle Manap, 28, who was carrying an identification card from the MILF, and his uncle Ibrahim Usman, 37, reportedly sold 25 grams of shabu for P50,000 to a police officer who posed as a buyer in front of a supermarket in Barangay Old Balara, Quezon City at around 5 p.m.

Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel Jr. said based on their investigation, Manap underwent basic weapons training and was part of the MILF’s armed unit.

Chief Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar, director of the National Capital Region Police Office, said 300 grams of shabu and three pistols were confiscated from Jayson Lagumbay, Jorge Golfo, Leonardo Jacinto and Jess Kenneth dela Cruz in a sting in Barangay Pansol, also in Quezon City, at around 7:45 p.m.

Records show Lagumbay was arrested in 2016 on drug charges in Mandaluyong and is still on trial; Golfo was tagged in a 2017 shooting in Mandaluyong wherein two women were killed; and Jacinto is a suspect in a murder in Caloocan last month.

Esquivel said the suspects are also reportedly involved in robberies in Quezon City.

Anti-narcotics police also reported arresting 17 persons in Quezon City and four in Marikina. – Non Alquitran