Stall owner nabbed for shabu; woman in-law arrested for bribe try

BAGUIO CITY -- A stall owner in a mall here was nabbed with four sachets of shabu in a buy-bust operation by anti-drug agents at around 4 p.m. on July 1.

The arrested shabu dealer was identified as Acsari Adapun Ampuan alias “Larry”, 35, married, high school graduate, businessman of Marawi City, Lanao Del Sur and resident of 42-B Perfecto St., Malcolm Square here.

Ampuan reportedly gets his supply of shabu from Manila through his wife, who usually buys their stall articles or merchandise from the Divisoria Market.

Likewise allegedly, he allegedly distributes the dangerous drug to guest relation officers in Baguio, where he even customarily offers shabu samples for free to the girls to win over and compete with other shabu dealers in nightclubs.

A sachet of shabu was sold by Ampuan for P500 to an agent of the Baguio City Special Enforcement Team of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency– Cordillera, who acted as buyer in the operation last July 1 near the former’s stall at the Baguio Center Mall, Magsaysay Ave.

When frisked later by the arresting officer, he yielded three more sachets of the illegal drug.

The same marked P500 bill buy-bust money was also recovered from him by the seizing drug law enforcer.

The cellular phone used by Ampuan for the illegal drug deal was seized by the operating drug law enforcement officers as additional evidence against him.

Furthermore, the confiscated sachets of shabu, which approximately weighed .17 gram was valued at P2000.

These were turned over to the Philippine National Police Regional Crime Laboratory Office.

Cases for illegal drugs were filed against Ampuan before the Office of the City Prosecutor.
The accused is now detained at the Baguio City Jail.

This, as Muslim woman was arrested for trying to buy off a top PDEA official in exchange for liberty of Ampuan, her relative earlier nabbed by the unit for selling shabu.

The chief of the operations division and concurrent regional PDEA intelligence officer was offered with bribe money amounting to P20,000 by Zenaida Mangandere Bangcola alias “Senai”, 32, married, vendor, native of Lanao Del Sur and resident of Parungao Apartment, Hangar Market here.
Bangcola offered the money in exchange for the liberty of her first husband’s brother-in-law, Acsari Ampuan, who was nabbed with four sachets of shabu in a buy-bust operation by PDEA agents around 4 p.m. last July 1 at the Baguio Center Mall.

Bangcola insisted on negotiating for the non-filing of case against Ampuan and his consequential release from custody, and had been persistent in trying to hand in the hush money to the senior agent.

Irritated by Bangcola’s apparent display of disrespect, the agent immediately ordered her arrest as soon as he verified the contents of the packet she placed on the table.

She was apprehended at about 7:30 p.m. the evening the same day at the PDEA office at the Melvin Jones Grandstand basement, Harrison Road.

A case for violation of Article 212 (Corruption of Public Officer) of the Revised Penal Code was already filed against Bangcola before the Office of the City Prosecutor.