Operatives of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) have arrested another suspected big-time drug suspect and seized some PHP6.8 million worth of illegal drugs in an anti-drug operation Thursday here.
The arrest was the fifth anti-drug operation this month here that resulted in the arrest of suspected big-time drug personalities.
Col. Rexmel Reyes, ZCPO director, identified the arrested suspect as Elmer Esmiraji alias Totoh, 24, a resident of Talipao, Sulu.
Reyes said Esmiraji was arrested by joint operatives of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) and ZCPO’s Station 4 in a buy-bust operation around 9:10 a.m. Thursday in Purok 5, Barangay Arena Blanco, this city.
Reyes said seized from the suspect were more or less one kilogram of suspected shabu worth PHP6.8 million, PHP1.1 million boodle money topped with one genuine PNP1,000 bill as marked money.
Reyes said the suspect’s arrest came after they intensified the campaign against illegal drugs with focus on high-value targets (HVTs) or big-time drug personalities.
“We will continue to coordinate with other concerned agencies to further strengthen our border controls against the entry of illegal drugs into the city,” he said.
Esmiraji was the fifth suspected big-time drug personality arrested this month in this city.
The first was Fahad Sabtal who was arrested by ZCPO’s Station 7 operatives in possession of some PHP273,600 illegal drugs—PHP183,600 suspected shabu and PHP90,000 worth of dried marijuana leaves on September 8 in Sitio Talungun, Barangay San Roque.
The second was Umdah Rajal who yielded some PHP680,000 worth of suspected shabu when arrested by ZCPO operatives on September 13 along Veterans Avenue, Barangay Camino Nuevo.
Third to be arrested was Ajid Abdulah who was caught by ZCPO operatives in possession of PHP340,000 worth of suspected sbabu also on September 13 in Barangay Mampang.
The fourth arrested suspect was Jun-Jun Ismael who was arrested on September 16 in Sitio Asinan, Barangay Kasanyangan, also in this city. He yielded some PHP340,000 worth of suspected shabu.
Reyes said the ZCPO campaign against illegal drugs “is more compelling that it cannot lower its guard”.
“We have had intensified its fight against illegal drugs and that can be seen in the high-value targets or HVTs arrested by our police anti-illegal drug units as well as in the amount of shabu recovered from the operations,” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency