Maguindanao town councilor killed in Cotabato City drug bust —PDEA

COTABATO CITY - A town councilor of Northern Kabuntalan, Maguindanao who was on the high-value target (HVT) list of the anti-narcotics operatives was killed Sunday afternoon in a sting operation.

Director Juvenal Azurin, chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-BARMM), said the operation took place around 1:40 p.m. in Purveyor Subdivision, Barangay Rosary Heights 11 in Cotabato City.

The slain narco suspect was identified as Jaymar Nandang, an incumbent town councilor of Northern Kabuntalan.

“He resisted and fought back with our operatives when we asked for his surrender after we confirmed his illegal activity. We had no choice but to fire at him first before he could hurt our team,” Azurin said.

PDEA-BARMM was joined by law-enforcement teams from the Cotabato City Police Drug Enforcement Unit, Station 2, and elements from Marine Battalion Landing Team 5.

Recovered from his possession were around 20 grams of suspected shabu estimated to be worth P136,000, a caliber .45 pistol, buy-bust money, and a cellphone.

Relatives of the slain suspect have not yet given their statement regarding the incident. —LBG/KG, GMA News