GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNEws / 25 Feb) – Anti-drug operatives arrested late Tuesday night an elected barangay official in Banga town in South Cotabato in a drug buy-bust operation in the area.
Agent Vince Lachica, public information officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 12, identified the suspect as Emmanuel Recto Malala, 36, an incumbent councilor of Barangay Improgo in Banga.
He said the suspect was nabbed at his residence around 10:20 p.m. after allegedly selling a sachet of metamphetamine hydrocholoride or shabu to a PDEA agent who acted as a buyer.
Recovered from the suspect were four small plastic packs containing a gram of suspected shabu with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P7,500 and P500 marked money, he said.[]
“We subjected the suspect to casing and surveillance after receiving a tip from a local informant about his illegal activities,” he told MindaNews.
Prior to the operation, Lachica said they conducted several test-buys on the suspect that all yielded positive.
“We tagged him as a priority target since he is actively involved in the selling of shabu and he’s an elected official at the same time,” he said.[]
