P100M worth of shabu recovered from Maute position in Marawi

Troops from the Philippine Army recovered 11 kilograms of suspected shabu worth more than P100 million on Sunday evening following an encounter with the ISIS-inspired Maute group in Marawi City.

4th Civil Relations Group commander Lt. Col. Emmanuel Garcia in a press statement on Monday said soldiers from the 49th Infantry Battalion recovered the shabu and seized four high-powered firearms around 6 p.m.

Garcia said troops responded to reports of men in black emerging from a cluster of houses in Marawi City when the terrorists opened fire while carrying items taken from the houses.

The street value of the seized shabu is estimated to be between P110 million to P250 million, according to Garcia.

Numerous sachets of shabu have been reportedly recovered by soldiers since clashes broke out in Marawi City last May 23.

Garcia said troops on the frontlines have observed that the terrorists were high on illegal drugs when they face government forces.

Meanwhile, Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. called the recovered shabu as the "largest illegal drug haul so far" in the ongoing clashes between the military and the Maute group.

Galvez said Maute and Abu Sayyaf members using illegal drugs violate the teachings of Islam as stated in the Holy Quran.

"This strengthens our findings that these terrorists are using illegal drugs which according to Muslim religious leaders is Haram. These Maute and ASG terrorists are not Muslims. They have violated every tenets of the teachings in the Holy Quran," he said.

The illegal drugs have been turned over to Joint Task Group Haribon who will hand it over to the concerned government agency for proper disposition.

On Sunday, the military said 242 Maute members have been killed in the 26 days of fighting between the terrorists and the government. 

A total of 243 firearms of the Maute group members have also been recovered by troops. —Joseph Tristan Roxas/KG, GMA News