Drug den owner killed, 2 arrested in PDEA-BARMM operation

COTABATO CITY— Anti-narcotics agents shot and killed an uncooperative drug den operator and arrested his two aides during an entrapment operation in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur, on Thursday, February 20.

Gil Cesario Castro, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, announced on Friday, February 21, that the entrapment operation turned hostile when the drug den owner attempted to provoke a gunfight, leading to his death.

The drug den owner and his two companions drew firearms and opened fire when they realized they had sold P102,000 worth of shabu to PDEA-BARMM agents and operatives from the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region during a tradeoff in Purok 3, Barangay Upper Siling, Buluan.

The two accomplices of the slain drug den operator eventually surrendered when they realized that PDEA-BARMM agents and policemen had surrounded their hideout, prepared to neutralize them if they resisted arrest.

Local executives involved in planning the entrapment operation confirmed to reporters that the slain drug den operator and his two companions facilitated pot sessions at their hideout, where PDEA-BARMM agents found drug-sniffing paraphernalia, a 9mm submachine gun, and a black motorcycle used for distributing shabu to contacts in nearby barangays.

Castro said the two suspects are now detained, awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.