MAITUM, SARANGANI PROVINCE — A 46-year-old fisherman was arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted by joint law enforcement units in the early hours of June 11, 2025, in Barangay Mabay, Maitum, Sarangani Province.
The suspect, known by the alias “Marlo”, a resident of Purok Masagana in the same barangay, was caught during a coordinated anti-illegal drug operation at around 12:46 AM at Purok Timawa. The operation was led by the Maitum Municipal Police Station (MPS) with support from the Sarangani Police Provincial Office’s Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU), Provincial Intelligence Unit (PIU), Regional Intelligence Division 12 Tracker Team Foxtrot, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 12, 2nd Sarangani Provincial Mobile Force Company (SPMFC), and in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 12.
According to authorities, the suspect sold a sachet of suspected shabu weighing 0.1320 grams to a poseur buyer using a marked PHP 500 bill, which led to his immediate arrest.
A subsequent body search revealed two more sachets of suspected shabu hidden inside the suspect’s wallet, bringing the total weight to approximately 0.2870 grams with an estimated street value of PHP 2,849.02.
Recovered evidence was properly documented, marked on-site in the presence of a barangay kagawad and a media representative, and is now undergoing laboratory examination at the Sarangani Provincial Forensic Unit.
Following the arrest, the suspect was taken to the Sarangani Provincial Hospital in Maitum for a medical examination in compliance with the Anti-Torture Act (RA 9745), and is now under custody at the Maitum MPS.
Authorities are preparing charges against the suspect for violations of Sections 5 and 11, Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.