ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/09 December) – Police operatives recovered a kilo of methamphetamine hydrochloride, more popularly known as shabu, with an estimated market value of P6 million from an apartment here on Monday.
But suspect Nurhaifa Musa eluded arrest as she was already gone when barangay officials and policemen arrived at the apartment’s compound.
Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City police director, said the shabu was recovered around 3:30 p.m. in one of the rooms of the apartment along Triplit Drive, Barangay Sto. Niño.
Casimiro said the recovery came after one of the apartment’s occupants noticed a bag that fell beside the comfort room of her unit.
He said the occupant noticed Musa “hurriedly walking towards the main gate” of the compound and “disappeared” when the neighbor was about to verify as to where the bag came from.
The occupant, Casimiro said, notified the apartment’s caretaker about her find. The caretaker then reported it to Sto. Niño barangay chairman Rogelio Miranda.
Casimiro said the contents of the bag turned out to be shabu packed in 11 large-sized sachets when Miranda and operatives of the City Anti-illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (CAIDSOFT) arrived and inspected the bag’s contents.
Authorities reported that the bag also contained three disposable lighters, a pair of scissors, digital weighing scale and P11,050 cash.
Casimiro said investigation showed that Musa, a native of Basilan province, is in the watch list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
He said no one among the apartment’s occupants knows Musa well since she moved to the apartment only about 15 days ago.