PHILIPPINE National Police officials on Satuday announced the arrest of two top drug targets in Zamboanga peninsula following separate anti-narcotics operations in Zamboanga City which resulted in the confiscation of nearly P20 million worth of shabu.

PNP Drug Enforcement Group director Brig. Gen. Eleazar P. Matta said that one of the suspects who was described as a 37-year-old “high-value individual” in the region was apprehended during a sting in Yubenco, Bgy. San Jose Gusu 12 a.m. Friday.

Undercover officers from the PDEG Special Operations Unit 9, with the support fo the Zamboanga City Police Office and the Police Regional Office 9 (PRO9) Regional Mobile Force Battalion and Regional Intelligence Unit 9 confiscated from the suspect two kilograms of the “poor man’s cocaine” valued at P13.6m million.

Another anti-drug operation in Bgy. Canelar conducted by operatives from the Zamboanga CPO and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Thursday afternoon led to the recovery of a kilo of shabu worth P6.8 million, said PRO9 director Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey M. Masauding.

Arrested during the operation was a 24-year- old male who was also described as a “high-value target,” said Masauding.

Both suspects are facing non-bailable charges for sale and possession of prohibited drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon