2 alleged shabu dealers linked to terror group nabbed

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Policemen intercepted Thursday two suspected members of the Dawlah Islamiya while out to deliver P346,800 worth of shabu to a buyer in a secluded barangay in Marawi City.

Policemen in a checkpoint in Barangay Sugod in Marawi City were supposed to inspect the motorcycle riders Rasul Unte Sarip and Esmael Guro Pacabi only for firearms, but found shabu in their sling bags.

Col. Robert Daculan, Lanao del Sur provincial police director, said Saturday Sarip and Pacabi are now detained, awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Local executives in different towns in Lanao del Sur told reporters via online Messenger Saturday that the duo belong to group of some 30 drug dealers who shared earnings to the slain Faharudin Pumbuaya Pangalian, the “emir,” or grand leader of the Dawlah Islamiya in the country.

Pangalian and his deputy, Joharie Sandab Morsib, were killed in a joint police-Army law enforcement operation last June 14 in the Sarimanok area in Marawi City.

“These two men, Rasul and Esmael, are connected with the Dawlah Islamiya. They have a shabu distribution network in Marawi City and in municipalities in the first district of Lanao del Sur,” said a Muslim preacher in Marawi City, who requested anonymity.