PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — Authorities intensified their anti-illegal drug campaign anew following the arrest of a suspected drug personality and the confiscation of more than half a million pesos worth of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation conducted Thursday afternoon in Pagadian City.
The operation was carried out at around 1:00 p.m. along Urro Street, Purok Gumamela, Barangay San Jose, through a joint effort of operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Office and several law enforcement and intelligence units.
Arrested during the anti-drug operation was a 33-year-old suspect identified only by his alias “Yan-Yan,” a jobless resident of Barangay Tuburan, Pagadian City.
Authorities said the suspect was apprehended after selling illegal drugs to an undercover operative during the conduct of the buy-bust operation.
Confiscated from the suspect’s possession were sixteen heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing approximately 75 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated standard drug price of ₱510,000.
Also recovered during the operation were several non-drug pieces of evidence, including a black wallet, a motorcycle with its key, one cellular phone, buy-bust money, and opened-end plastic sachets believed to have been used in illegal drug transactions.
The successful operation was conducted jointly by personnel of PDEA-Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Office, the Philippine National Police of Pagadian City Police Station, the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Intelligence Team of the Regional Intelligence Unit 9, the Coast Guard Intelligence Unit-Zamboanga del Sur under the Coast Guard Intelligence Group-South Western Mindanao, and the 902nd Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 9.
Authorities described the operation as part of the government’s continuing intensified campaign against illegal drugs and criminality in the region.
The arrested suspect is now under the custody of authorities and is expected to face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Law enforcement agencies reiterated their commitment to sustain aggressive anti-drug operations in order to curb the proliferation of illegal substances and protect communities from the harmful effects of narcotics.