By Edwin Fernandez

ILLEGAL ITEMS. The shabu, guns, and fragmentation grenade seized from a suspected drug peddler in Pahamuddin town of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Special Geographic Area in North Cotabato following an anti-drug operation on Tuesday (July 29, 2025). Multiple charges were filed against the suspect. (Photo courtesy of PDEA-BARMM)

COTABATO CITY – Operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) arrested a drug peddler who yielded shabu, two firearms, and a grenade in Pahamuddin town of the BARMM’s Special Geographic Area (SGA) in North Cotabato on Tuesday.

In a statement Wednesday, PDEA-BARMM Director Gil Cesario Castro described the operation as “hitting two birds with one stone.”

“The suspect is a notorious drug pusher and at the same time an illegal gun holder,” he said.

Acting on a tip, PDEA agents and soldiers from the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion lured the suspect, identified by alias “Mascod,” through a buy-bust at his residence in Barangay Balacayon, Pahamuddin. He yielded illegal drugs and weapons.

Seized from him were five grams of shabu with a street value of PHP34,000, the buy-bust money, shabu paraphernalia, a .45-caliber pistol, a .38-caliber revolver, an MK2 hand grenade, and ammunition.

“We will continue working with other security sectors to ensure our people, especially the youth, are free from the influence of those in the illegal drug network,” Castro said.

Castro said the suspect is facing charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), RA 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act), and RA 9516, the law that amends Presidential Decree No. 1866 to strengthen laws against illegal possession of firearms and explosive devices. (PNA)