P300,000 worth of marijuana seized in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — Lawmen seized some P300,000 worth of compressed marijuana leaves in a raid Sunday at a roadside farming village in Matanog town west of Maguindanao province.

The illegal merchandise, ready for distribution to buyers, were found in one of the houses which operatives from the regional police command of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Matanog municipal police and the ARMM's Regional Public Safety Battalion raided Sunday morning.

Initial reports obtained from the ARMM regional police in Camp S.K. Pendatun in Parang town indicated that the raid was carried out after vigilant folks informed local officials of the presence of a group keeping dried marijuana leaves in a peasant enclave in Bugasan Sur in Matanog.

The suspects, however, managed to escape after seeing the policemen approach their lair from different directions.

Several hours later, policemen in Pikit town in North Cotabato province nabbed three men they caught in the act of sniffing methamphetamine hydrochloride, more known as shabu, in Barangay Talitay.

The policemen who discovered the drug den of the suspects, located in the middle of a corn farm, were searching for a notorious drug dealer named Ondo Panangilan in the area.

Inspector Sindatu Karim of the Pikit municipal police said the arrested drug dependents, Norhim Zailon, 35, Buhari Usman, 27, and Ali Esmael, 25, all residents of Barangay Talitay, are now detained and awaiting prosecution.

Karim said they will continue their hunt for Panangilan, whose shabu distribution network encompasses Pikit's Talitay area and surrounding barangays.