CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Police arrested a suspected high-value individual (HVI) and seized around two kilos of suspected shabu worth ₱13.6 million in a joint buy-bust operation conducted before dawn on Saturday, December 13, 2025, in Barangay Gusa.
The operation was carried out at around 3:15 a.m. in Purok 4 by operatives of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO), led by Police Major Aldren E. Baculio, in coordination with the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU), City Mobile Force Company (CMFC), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 10. The operation was conducted under Pre-Operations Number 11-00-12132025-002 and Transaction Identification Number TIPCOCPOCDEU20251213-003.
Authorities identified the suspect as a 41-year-old married male, a resident of the area, who was tagged by police as a high-value player in the illegal drug trade.
Recovered during the operation were 17 sachets of suspected shabu—one buy-bust item and 16 possession items—along with a genuine ₱1,000 bill and nine boodle ₱1,000 bills used as buy-bust money, a Chinese tea bag, an Android cellphone, a digital weighing scale, a durabox, and a red ecobag.
Police estimated the total weight of the confiscated illegal drugs at approximately 2,000 grams, with a street value of ₱13.6 million, marking one of the city’s biggest drug seizures this year.
The suspect is now under the custody of CDEU-COCPO and will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
COCPO City Director Police Colonel Dexter G. Paje lauded the operating teams for the successful operation, citing careful planning and strong inter-agency coordination.
“This significant seizure is a testament to our unwavering commitment to rid Cagayan de Oro City of illegal drugs and protect our communities from the harmful effects of the drug trade,” Paje said. “We will continue to work closely with our partners, especially PDEA, to ensure that drug traffickers have no place to operate in our city.”
Police said further investigation is underway to determine the suspect’s possible links to a wider drug network operating in Northern Mindanao.