By Annabelle L. Ricalde
Sunday, July 29, 2012
AGENTS of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Northern Mindanao arrested a notorious suspected drug dealer and three other suspects in Cagayan de Oro City.
The dreaded buy-bust operation on Friday nearly caused the lives of PDEA agents.
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PDEA agents also seized five grams of shabu with an estimated value of P30,000 during the operation.
Arrested were Johary Mangakoy, 26, a resident of Mabasa Compound, Karinogan in Barangay Balulang, Cagayan de Oro; Mangakoy’s live-in partner Johana Cabillo, 19, and her mother Ziselle, 42, both residents of Zone 8 Barangay Cugman, also in Cagayan de Oro; and Daryl Sarsaba, 19, a resident of Tambakan, Iligan City.
PDEA Regional Director Roberto Opeña said Mangakoy is considered as a target listed personality of PDEA.
The suspects were arrested inside one of the rooms of a lodging house along Yacapin Street where the buy-bust operation was conducted last Friday around 11:30 p.m.
During the operation, Mangakoy, who was armed with a hand grenade, attempted to escape by jumping over a small window of the lodging house.
“Rex,” an agent of PDEA, said Mangakoy took off the safety pin of the hand grenade and attempted to throw it to them.
“If he threw the grenade, some civilians would be hit. But he hesitated because he would surely be included if it would go off,” Rex said.
He claimed they were not aware that Mangakoy was armed with a hand grenade at that time.
When interviewed, Mangakoy said he was surprised when a PDEA agent fired a warning shot, which prompted him to take the grenade’s pin.
“But the hand grenade is not mine. It was just exchanged with shabu but I don’t know who owns it,” he said.
Seized from Mangakoy’s possession were one medium size transparent plastic sachet containing shabu, one piece open transparent plastic sachet containing dried marijuana leaves, two pieces rectangular medium size transparent plastic sachets of shabu, one big size transparent plastic sachet and seven small size transparent plastic sachets of shabu.
Also recovered were two P500 bills used as marked money during the buy-bust operation, a hand grenade and shabu paraphernalia.
The four suspects are now temporarily detained at the PDEA Northern Mindanao mini-cell pending the filing of charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and illegal possession of explosive.
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on July 30, 2012.
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