CAMP DANGWA, Benguet – Police arrested 24 individuals, including seven top most wanted persons, in manhunt operations in the Cordillera region from Nov. 17 to 23.
The Police Regional Office-Cordillera Regional Investigation and Detective Management said the Baguio City Police Office apprehended 12 wanted persons, followed by the Ifugao Police Provincial Office with four, Benguet PPO with three, Abra PPO with two, and Apayao PPO, Kalinga PPO, and Mountain Province PPO with one each.
Five of those apprehended were wanted persons on the provincial level and two on the municipal level.
Suspects face cases for rape, illegal drugs, lascivious conduct, statutory rape, and murder.
Zero crime incidents were recorded in 61 municipalities in the region during the week: 24 municipalities in Abra, 10 in Mountain Province, nine in Benguet, eight in Ifugao, six in Apayao, and four in Kalinga.
Police Stations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10 of the Baguio City Police Office also recorded zero crime incidents.
Meanwhile, police seized shabu and marijuana valued at P19.8 million and apprehended four suspected drug pushers in the Cordillera region from Nov. 18 to 24.
Brig. Gen. David Peredo Jr., PRO-Cordillera chief, said they conducted 14 anti-illegal drug operations where 48,870 fully grown marijuana plants, 12,000 marijuana seedlings, 80,000 grams of dried marijuana leaves and fruiting tops, and 5.20 grams of suspected shabu were recovered.
Four drug pushers were arrested -- two high-value individuals in Kalinga and Mountain Province and two street-level individuals in Baguio City and Kalinga.
Drug bust
A 51-year-old government employee was arrested after suspected shabu was recovered in his possession during a raid in Barangay Lenneng, Kabugao, Apayao, on Nov. 25.
The suspect was an administrative aide for the local government.
Recovered from the suspect was 0.5 grams of shabu valued at P3,400 and drug paraphernalia.
The suspect faces charges for violating Republic Act 9165 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002
He is under the custody of the local police.