DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao del Norte — Authorities in Central Mindanao scored back-to-back victories in the campaign against illegal drugs with the arrest of two suspected drug dealers, one of whom is reportedly linked to remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya terror group.
In Maguindanao del Norte, joint operatives from the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station (MPS), Municipal Drug Enforcement Unit (MDEU), and other supporting units nabbed Paulo Gabines Leonardo in a buy-bust operation at Barangay Makir on August 14, 2025. Seized from the suspect were 14 sachets of suspected shabu weighing approximately 12 grams with an estimated street value of ₱81,600, along with buy-bust money and a small white pocket bag.
Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR) Regional Director PBGen Jaysen C. De Guzman lauded the operation, noting it was planned by Lt. Col. Esmael Madin following reports from tipsters about Leonardo’s alleged shabu trafficking. Local executives and barangay officials had earlier relayed that the suspect shared part of his drug earnings with a small faction of Dawlah Islamiya operating in marshlands along the Maguindanao del Norte–Maguindanao del Sur border, a group notorious for providing sanctuary to large-scale drug traffickers.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation on August 13, 2025, police in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, arrested suspected drug peddler Radin Mamaso Guiali, a resident of Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, and reportedly a relative of two Dawlah Islamiya leaders still operating in the neighboring towns of Datu Salibo and Datu Saudi Ampatuan.
Led by Lt. Col. Peter Pinalgan Jr., chief of the Koronadal City Police Station, and backed by the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, operatives seized 25 grams of suspected shabu worth ₱170,000 from Guiali during a sting in Barangay Morales.
Both suspects are now under police custody as charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are being prepared.
PBGen De Guzman assured the public that PRO BAR will continue strengthening intelligence and operational efforts to hold drug traffickers accountable. “Our communities deserve a safe and drug-free environment, and we will not stop until we achieve that goal,” he said, urging residents to remain vigilant and report illegal drug activities through the nearest police station or hotline.