PDEA arrests Dats, seizes PHP34M shabu in Lanao del Sur

Anti-narcotics agents arrested Zacaria Jaji Nandang alias Dats from Cotabato City during a major drug buy-bust operation in Malabang, Lanao del Sur on Monday afternoon, April 8.

The same day, PDEA agents intercepted more than PHP3.4 million worth of shabu bound for Oriental Mindoro in Batangas City, arresting one 'Grace' who was found with 500 grams of the drug and a motorcycle used in her illegal trade.

In Malabang, Nandang was apprehended by PDEA and other law enforcement units including the National Intelligence Agency, seizing five kilograms of shabu worth PHP34 million, PHP1 million in boodle money, a mobile phone, and his vehicle.

Nandang was arrested after selling five kilos of shabu to covert agents of PDEA in Barangay Matalin, Malabang town, where he yielded peacefully, marking the largest drug haul in Lanao del Sur since the establishment of BARMM.

Investigators had been surveilling Nandang for weeks based on intelligence indicating a multimillion-peso illicit drug trade in the region, and narcotics agents suspect that he did not act alone with potential links to the 2025 elections still being validated.