3 nabbed in Mandaluyong drug busts

Agents of the National Capital Region Police Office and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Monday arrested three alleged drug couriers and seized a kilogram of suspected shabu in Mandaluyong City.

NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said Raihana Pontino, Aliola Sultan, and Jassir Pangaga were arrested in a buy-bust operation on Shaw Boulevard around 11:25 p.m.

Eleazar said the three allegedly served as drug couriers of a criminal syndicate connected to the group of Chinese nationals and Muslims engaged in the illegal drug trade in Metro Manila and Cavite.

Authorities seized a plastic pack containing 500 grams of suspected shabu, five plastic packs of the same substance weighing 100 grams each, P800,000 in cash, and a silver gray SUV that was used in the delivery of illegal drugs.

Eleazar said police recovered a total of one kilogram of the suspected shabu with an estimated street value of about P6.8 million.

He said the three suspects had been the subject of anti-illegal drugs operations in Pasig City several times, but they always managed to escape after posting bail.

The suspects are facing charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.