Davao City — Authorities arrested two alleged big-time marijuana pushers and seized illegal drugs worth an estimated ₱3.6 million during a successful buy-bust operation on Friday morning, January 31, 2026, in a subdivision in Barangay Communal.
Operatives of the Regional Special Enforcement Team–Davao City Office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Regional Office XI, in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation–Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office and Police Precinct 5 (Buhangin Police Station), conducted the operation at around 9:00 a.m. in Camella Homes.
The suspects were identified only by their aliases, “Christian” and “Athena.” Authorities said the two were arrested in flagrante delicto after selling a self-sealing transparent plastic pouch containing suspected dried marijuana leaves, disguised as herbal medicine, worth ₱5,000 to an undercover operative posing as a buyer.
A follow-up search led to the recovery of 11 vacuum-sealed bricks of suspected dried marijuana leaves, with a combined estimated weight of 11 kilograms and a total street value of approximately ₱3,600,000. The marked buy-bust money used in the transaction was also recovered.
PDEA officials said the operation was the result of sustained intelligence gathering and inter-agency coordination aimed at dismantling high-level illegal drug distribution networks in the city.
The two suspects are now in custody and will face charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Confiscated evidence has been turned over for proper documentation and laboratory examination.