Marijuana dealer linked to Dawlah Islamiya faces raps

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

January 22, 2026 | 6:59pm

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has filed in court a criminal case against a 19-year-old male trafficker of marijuana supplied by remaining members of the now defunct Dawlah Islamiya.

The suspect was entrapped last Monday, January 19, in Barangay Rosary Heights Mother in Cotabato City by agents of PDEA-BARMM in an operation assisted by his own relatives, who reported to the agency his illegal activities, and barangay officials supporting the multi-sector anti-narcotics campaign of the city's local government unit.

Benjamin Recites III, director of PDEA-BARMM, told reporters on Thursday that they have charged the suspect, now in their custody, with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in one of the courts in Cotabato City.

The suspect was immediately arrested by PDEA-BARMM agents after selling them P1,200 worth of dried marijuana leaves during a tradeoff along Santos Street in  Barangay Rosary Heights Mother in Cotabato City.

Recites said it was the relatives of the suspect and barangay officials who informed them about his peddling of marijuana in Cotabato City, enabling them to promptly entrap him with the help of the office of Mayor Bruce Matabalao.

Relatives of the suspect told reporters on Thursday that the marijuana he sold in different areas in Cotabato City were supplied by Dawlah Islamiya members, hiding in secluded areas in different towns in Central Mindanao, who have not yet availed of the reconciliation program of the Army's 6th Infantry Division for violent religious extremists.

Photo: The marijuana dealer entrapped by anti-narcotics agents in Cotabato City on Monday, January 19, 2026, is now awaiting prosecution in court.