RADJAH BUAYAN, MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR — In a major blow to the nexus between illegal drugs and terrorism, authorities arrested five notorious drug den operators in Barangay Pidsandawan on Saturday, July 5, 2025. Police confirmed that the suspects had been providing financial support to two local terrorist groups, further exposing how the illegal drug trade is fueling violent extremism in the region.
Brigadier General Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), confirmed on Sunday that the suspects are now under police custody. They were apprehended through a buy-bust operation led by the Radjah Buayan Municipal Police Station and the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office.
According to local government officials and respected Moro traditional leaders, the suspects not only operated a hidden drug den but also maintained direct ties with remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)—two extremist groups long associated with bombings, ambushes, and other violent attacks in Mindanao. Though weakened in recent years, both groups remain a threat to regional security, particularly due to their continued involvement in criminal enterprises like drug trafficking.
“These drug dealers have been paying protection money to these terror groups in exchange for safe passage and sanctuary,” De Guzman revealed. “This is how terrorism survives—through the drug economy.”
The five suspects were caught red-handed during the entrapment operation after selling ₱55,000 worth of shabu to undercover police officers. No resistance was reported during the arrest.
Seized from the scene were drug paraphernalia, including a weighing scale used for repacking illegal drugs and various smoking implements, all found inside the suspects’ hideout—an illicit drug den frequented by users from neighboring towns.
Both Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF have long been linked to harboring criminals and drug syndicates in exchange for cash. Intelligence reports suggest that as law enforcement pressure increases, these groups have resorted to tighter collaboration with the illegal drug trade to fund their dwindling operations.
Security officials said the arrest is a testament to the government’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the dangerous alliance between narco-traffickers and terrorist networks—a partnership that continues to undermine peace, order, and development in the Bangsamoro region.
Authorities vowed to intensify surveillance and operations targeting similar criminal-terrorist linkages in other parts of Maguindanao del Sur and nearby provinces.