Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte — Authorities arrested a 42-year-old female vendor identified as a newly listed drug personality during an intelligence-led anti-drug operation in Sitio Ummah Village, Barangay Capiton, around 8:30 PM on May 30, 2025.
The suspect was caught in the act and taken into custody, while two other individuals — a 27-year-old woman and an unidentified man — managed to escape. Police said both are also believed to be newly identified figures in the local illegal drug trade.
The joint operation was carried out by the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station, 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC), Philippine Drug Enforcement Group – Special Operations Unit BAR, Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU) of the Police Regional Office – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR), and the 1404th Regional Mobile Force Battalion 14-A.
According to authorities, the operation was prompted by a tip from a confidential informant about an imminent drug transaction. Responding operatives arrived at the reported location and caught the suspects allegedly selling illegal drugs.
The two fleeing suspects left behind a bag containing eight heat-sealed sachets of suspected shabu weighing around five grams, with an estimated street value of ₱34,000.
The arrested vendor was found with two sachets of suspected shabu weighing 0.08 grams, valued at ₱544. Other items seized at the scene included a blue TECNO mobile phone, a bundle of plastic cellophane, and a blue Mentos canister.
All confiscated items were properly marked, inventoried, and photographed in the presence of the suspect, police officers, and required witnesses, in compliance with standard procedures.
The suspect is now under the custody of the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station. Authorities are preparing charges against her and the two at-large individuals for violating Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
PBGEN Romeo J. Macapaz, Regional Director of PRO BAR, reiterated the police force’s continued commitment to suppressing illegal drug activities across the Bangsamoro region.