P455-million shabu intercepted in Zamboanga City.
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Authorities seized shabu worth P455 million during a high-speed chase here on Wednesday morning.
The driver of a vehicle loaded with the contraband touted to be the biggest haul in the history of Zamboanga City, engaged authorities in a cat and mouse chase before finally falling into a rice paddy here at dawn.
The driver and drug courier, 46-year-old Mohammad Ikram Abdurajak, was immediately arrested by a composite team led by the Zamboanga City Police Office, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-9, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
A female resident of Pagadian City, said to be his wife, and their child, was inside the van.
The woman was brought to a government hospital after sustaining injuries.
Intelligence and anti-illegal drug operatives were tailing the vehicle at the MCLL Highway when the driver of the SUV sensed he was being followed.
The suspect increased his speed and barged through a police checkpoint in Barangay Sangali.
Authorities continued to chase the vehicle until it fell into a rice paddy in Barangay Bunguiao.
In an inventory, police recovered 67 large plastic sachets of shabu with an estimated weight of approximately 67 kilograms with a standard drug price of P455.6 million.
The illegal reportedly came from Malaysia and was unloaded in Siasi, Sulu.
The contraband was brought to the Regional Forensic Unit 9 for examination while the suspect was detained at the Zamboanga City Police Office.
Police Brig. Gen. Eleazar Matta, PRO-9 regional director, said that due to the massive volume of drugs, the contraband would likely be bound not only to areas in Zamboanga Peninsula but also to adjacent regions in Mindanao.
Sources said that the latest drug haul is linked to an earlier drug bust on Tuesday where an ex-military man was caught with P27 million worth of shabu.
The P27-million haul was said to be part of a bigger cache brought into Zamboanga City, an established drug transshipment point by authorities, for distribution to nearby areas in Mindanao.