P2.04 M worth of shabu seized from slain Lanao del Sur trafficker

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Policemen seized P2.04 million worth of shabu from a barangay councilman killed in a shootout Thursday afternoon in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur.

Col. Jibin Bongcayao, director of the Lanao del Sur provincial police, said Friday Abuhanan Dimaporo Sultan died on the spot from gunshot wounds.

Sultan, a member of the barangay council in Limogao, Saguiaran, had links with the Dawlah Islamiya terrorist group, according to relatives and officials of an intelligence unit of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade in Marawi City.

Investigators recovered Sultan’s .45 caliber pistol and found some 300 grams of shabu in his bag.

Anti-narcotics agents from the provincial police placed at P2.04 million their estimate of the value of the confiscated shabu.

Civilian tipsters first spotted Sultan and his three companions, whom local officials identified initially only as Marko, Nadir and Arab, in Barangay Sagonsongan in Marawi City, together in a vehicle proceeding to Saguiaran town.

Members of the Marawi City Police Office and agents from units under Bongcayao were immediately dispatched to track them down.

Municipal police personnel in Saguiaran tried to flag down Sultan and companions in Barangay Mipaga, but the suspects opened fire, sparking a gunfight.

Sultan was killed in the ensuing shootout while his cohorts managed to run away, according to officials of the Saguiaran Municipal Police Station.

Bongcayao said the slain barangay official and his companions were to deliver their illegal merchandise to a contact somewhere in Saguiaran.