COTABATO CITY —A police team arrested two armed men before dawn on Wednesday, January 1, who were positioned along a highway in Barangay Gang, Sultan Kudarat, in Maguindanao del Norte, seemingly waiting for an ambush targe
Brig. Gen. Romeo Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, told reporters at noon on Wednesday that Salahudin Datukali, 20, and his 24-year-old companion, Jaybie Abo, are now in detention and will be prosecuted for illegal possession of firearms, with the two .45 caliber pistols confiscated from them to be used as evidence.
Officials of intelligence units under PRO-BAR and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division told reporters that Datukali and Abo, both residents of Barangay Macaguling in Sultan Kudarat, are under surveillance since July 2024 after confidential informants reported their involvement in nine deadly gun attacks in the municipality, in nearby Cotabato City and Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Patrolling personnel from the Sultan Kudarat Municipal Police Station, led by Lt. Col. Esmael Madin, arrested the two men after noticing them along a highway in Barangay Gang, with pistols tucked in their waists and standing near their parked motorcycle.
Neighbors of Datukali and Abo in Barangay Macaguiling had told reporters that they are also known in the community for their marijuana and shabu trafficking activities, distributing their illegal merchandise to contacts in remote areas in Maguindanao del Norte province.
Macapaz said he has instructed Madin to also charge both men separately, if possible, with a violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, should investigators gather sworn statements from potential witnesses to their narcotics peddling activities.
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