P40.8 million shabu seized in Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) seized shabu with an estimated street value of P34 million in Malabang, Lanao del Sur on Monday.

Gil Cesario Castro, PDEA-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao director, said Zacaria Jaji Nandang was apprehended after selling the illegal drugs to undercover agents in Barangay Matalin.

The suspect is said to be behind the illegal drug trade in Cotabato City, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur and Cotabato province.

In Zamboanga City, shabu worth P6.8 million was seized from a drug convict and his alleged cohort in front of the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (SRPF) in Barangay Talisayan.

The felon, a resident of Barangay Calarian, said he was accorded a ”living out” status after being committed to the SRPF for three years.

Prison officials initially prevented PDEA members from taking custody of the prisoner pending an “advice” from the Bureau of Corrections in Manila.

The PDEA later managed to take custody and brought the prisoner and his companion to its field office for documentation.