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John Unson - Philstar.com
March 20, 2026 | 4:56pm
The shabu dealer entrapped by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in Parang, Magindanao del Norte, is now detained, awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Anti-narcotics agents seized P176,800 worth of shabu from an elusive trafficker finally entrapped on Thursday, March 19, in Barangay Sarmiento in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte with the help of local executives and Muslim religious leaders.
Local executives told reporters on Friday that the 49-year-old Richarlie Tabanao, who peddled shabu near school campuses, had eluded three attempts to entrap him, for having lookouts around, who eventually left him after the arrest of six of his companions in joint PDEA-BARMM and police operations in the municipality and in Cotabato City in recent months.
Edgar Jubay, director of PDEA-BARMM, said on Friday that the suspect was immediately cuffed by their agents and operatives from different units of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region after turning over to them his illegal merchandise during a tradeoff in his hideout in Barangay Sarmiento, laid with the help of Parang Mayor Cahar Ibay.
Jubay said PDEA-BARMM agents had confiscated from Tabanao 26 grams of shabu, costing P176,800, during the entrapment operation, based on tips by residents of Barangay Sarmiento about his drug trafficking activities in the area.
PDEA-BARMM agents involved in the entrapment of Tabanao said they are thankful to Ibay, who, as mayor is also presiding chairperson of the multi-sector Parang Municipal Peace and Order Council, and his constituents, among them Muslim preachers, who provided information about the presence of Tabanao in the area, enabling them to mount the operation that led to his arrest.
