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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Drug suspect dies of heart attack during buy-bust in Parañaque

Drug suspect dies of heart attack during buy-bust in Parañaque

Published Aug 21, 2025 12:30 pm
(PDEA)
(PDEA)
A drug suspect died of a heart attack following a scuffle with government anti-narcotics agents during a buy-bust operation in Parañaque City, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) disclosed Friday, Aug. 22.
The PDEA operation took place inside a hotel located along the Entertainment City, New Seaside Drive in Barangay Tambo around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 18. A total of P6.8 million worth of suspected “shabu” or crystal meth was seized by the operatives.
The PDEA said it arrested three suspects identified as alias “Stephen”, 50; “Mohamad”, a 32-year-old German-Syrian; and their Filipina cohort “Mikhaela”, 24.
A report from the PDEA said that while the suspects were being collared, Stephen resisted arrest and stabbed one of the operatives inside a room on the 18th floor of the hotel. This prompted the rest of the arresting officers to grapple with the suspect, eventually overpowering the frantic culprit.
After being subdued, the suspect had difficulty breathing and later fell unconscious. The operatives rushed the suspect to a nearby hospital where attending physicians tried to revive him but to no avail, before eventually succumbing to a heart attack.
On the other hand, the PDEA said the wounded agent underwent treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Pasay City.
The PDEA agents recovered around a kilo of shabu inside the suspects’ hotel room, as well as the buy-bust money and a glass tooter.
The two remaining suspects face charges for violation of Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs), Section 12 (Possession of Drug Paraphernalia) and Section 15 (Use of Dangerous Drugs) of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.”
If found guilty, the PDEA said that the penalty of life imprisonment and fine ranging from P500,000 to P10,000,000 awaits Mohamad and Mikhaela, who are temporarily detained at the PDEA Regional Office IV-A custodial facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
“The bravery shown by the arresting operatives in the face of a knife attack is commendable. They had the audacity to take action in spite of the dangers involved. Every single day, anti-drug operatives are putting their lives on the line to make our communities as safe as possible from illegal drugs,” PDEA Director General Isagani R Nerez said.
The operation was jointly conducted by the PDEA Regional Office IV-A Cavite Provincial Office, PDEA Regional Office-National Capital Region (RO-NCR) Southern District Office, and Special Operations Unit of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group.
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