ILIGAN CITY–Joint operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 10 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have seized an estimated PHP3.4 million worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) from an incumbent provincial board member of Lanao del Sur Wednesday.
PDEA agents identified the target of the search warrant as Hussien Magandia, a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan representing the first district of Lanao del Sur, who was arrested along with three of his family members, including a city councilor, in an operation conducted at their residence in Bacayo, Barangay Tubod, here.
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Also included as a target of the search warrant is his wife Norhaima.
The couple’s son-in-law, Amin Dimal, a city councilor in Marawi City, and the couple’s son Aktar, were also arrested.
Authorities said the search warrant was issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 16 in Kabacan, North Cotabato.
“So far, they are the biggest narco-politicians [we have] arrested,” said PDEA-ARMM regional director Juvenal Azurin during the press conference at the PDEA-10 regional office following the suspects’ arrest.
PDEA has identified the suspects as belonging to the “Iwaram Drug Group.”
Azurin said the arrested elected officials were not on Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s original drug matrix, adding that it took PDEA about a year to verify the suspects’ involvement in the illegal drug trade.
“We were very careful in conducting the validation considering the fact that these personalities are prominent,” Azurin said.
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The PDEA official said they spent several months conducting validation, surveillance and intelligence gathering before carrying out the search operation.
Azurin said the illegal substance that was confiscated from the suspects came from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
The PDEA official did not name the person responsible for supplying the illegal drugs to the suspects, but he said that the supplier is a high-level inmate.
From Bilibid, the illegal drugs were then brought by land to Lanao del Sur, he added.
Azurin also said Norhaimah is the first cousin of Johaira “Marimar” Macabuat, the former mayor of Maguing town in Lanao del Sur and suspected “drug queen” who was on PDEA-10’s watch list.
He said the suspects were considered by PDEA as distributors, operating in Lanao del Sur and some parts of Lanao del Norte prior to their arrest.
From these provinces, they distributed the illegal substance to a network of runners and pushers, who sell the meth to other areas in Mindanao, he added.
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The suspects also have a few legitimate businesses based in Iligan City – a carwash, rice mill, and a rice trading – which they use as fronts to hide their illegal drug activities, the PDEA official said.
Azurin said PDEA will also be looking into the notebooks and bank documents seized from the suspects and use these in investigation.
As of posting time, the suspects were detained at the PDEA-10 detention cell pending the filing of formal charges against them.
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PNA tried to get the side of the suspects but they refused to give a statement to the media.