Drug den in North Cotabato province shutdown, 3 operators nabbed
Peace and Order • 16:45 PM Fri May 31, 2024
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By:
John Felix Unson
The three drug den operators arrested in Barangay Poblacion in Pikit in Cotabato on Thursday are now in the custody of PDEA-12. (From office of PDEA-12 Director Aileen Lovitos)
COTABATO CITY - Anti-narcotics agents seized P85,000 worth of shabu and arrested three alleged drug den operators, suspected of sharing earnings with two local terrorist groups, in a raid on Thursday in Piki, North Cotabato.
Aileen Lovitos, regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-12, told reporters on Friday morning that they are now in custody of suspects Leo Wacad Magno, Carl Winkie Opeña Magno and Brixbaine Jan Barraca Sangco, to be prosecuted for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
They yielded peacefully when PDEA-12 agents, backed by operatives from different units of the Police Regional Office-12, barged into their drug den along Vidal Cabañog Street in Barangay Poblacion in Pikit and showed them a search warrant from a court.
PDEA-12 agents and policemen found P86,000 worth of shabu and drug-sniffing paraphernalia in their den that neighbors frequented, according to local officials.
Courts, as a judicial policy, do not set bail for drug den operators arrested in PDEA or police anti-narcotics operations.
Local officials told reporters on Friday that PDEA-12 and the police should together look into assertions by people privy to the illegal activities of the suspects that they shared earnings to the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which are both known for providing drug dealers sanctuary in exchange for money.
There is the presence of the two terrorist groups in interior barangays in Pikit and in the nearby 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta.