P500K worth of suspected shabu seized

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A suspected ‘big time’ drug dealer was collared by members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), following a buy-bust operation along Lopez Jaena Street, Barangay 31 in Bacolod City, yesterday afternoon.

Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Nassher Mariga, a resident of the said barangay.

PDEA-Region 6 Director Wardly Getalia said Mariga is one of the agency’s “high-value drug targets” and is a big supplier of shabu in Bacolod City.

Recovered from Mariga were 125 grams worth of suspected shabu, valued at P500,000; a 12-gauge shotgun; a KG9 pistol; a weighing scale; and an undisclosed amount of suspected drug money.

Mariga, meanwhile, denied the seized drugs and firearms belonged to him.

The suspect is presently under the custody of PDEA./DGB, WDJ