ZAMBOANGA CITY- Philippine Marine soldiers recovered P5.3-million worth of cocaine along the shoreline of South Ubian, Tawi Tawi Province on Friday, Dec. 16.
A Western Mindanao Command report said soldiers of the 21st Marine Company/ Marine Battalion Landing Team 1 recovered the illegal substance after receiving a report that there was a suspicious package along the shoreline of Barangay Bubuan.
Marines who proceeded to the area found a plastic bag containing a yellowish substance suspected to be cocaine.
The package, according to the report, was found by a concerned citizen who was collecting empty plastic bottles at the coastline.
Residents said the item was originally wrapped in several layers of plastic tied with a rubber band and marked ‘cocaine,’ and ‘D&B.’ The wrapping was not recovered.
The substance, weighing one kilogram, was turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Tawi Tawi for examination and disposition.
Marine Brig. Gen. Arturo Rojas, Western Mindanao Command chief, commended the soldiers for their accomplishment.