Minor, 10 others nabbed in North Cotabato for drug trafficking

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Lawmen on Thursday arrested ten drug traffickers, one of them a 10-year-old child, as they dismantled three more drug dens in Matalam town in North Cotabato province.

Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum, North Cotabato’s police director, said the arrested suspects are now detained, awaiting prosecution.

Tagum, who led the dismantling of the drug circulation hideouts in Matalam town, said the suspects yielded methamphetamine hydrochloride, most known as shabu, in sealed sachets.

Tagum said the minor found in the company of the drug traffickers had been turned over to provincial officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Tagum identified eight of the drug peddlers as Yusoph Sagidpa, 37; Rodin Kamsa, 21; Tidz Zalpin, 25; Datoto Salipada, 44; Bonifacio Bayug, 42; Hofer Pasagui, 29; Karex Malik Ontong, 49 and Henry Pendatun, 31.

Investigators are still validating the exact identity of another suspect, initially identified only as Parcon, a Visayan.

Tagum said their latest operation in Matalam, about 15 kilometers from North Cotabato’s provincial capital Kidapawan City, was assisted by barangay officials.

Policemen had earlier arrested more than a dozen drug dealers in previous raids in the municipality.

Other drug peddlers managed to escape as they overhead shots fired by companions, warning them of approaching policemen from different directions.

The North Cotabato provincial police had arrested more than 30 drug traffickers in different areas since it intensified anew last September its anti-narcotics campaign in the province.