ZAMBOANGA CITY (October 12) — A 30-year-old man from Sulu was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Zamboanga City on October 7 after allegedly handing suspected shabu to an undercover buyer, police said. Authorities reported seizing three packs weighing about three kilograms, with an estimated standard drug value of P20.4 million.
The Regional Drug Enforcement Unit 9 (RDEU-9) conducted the operation at around 3:55 p.m. along Calle Real in Barangay Mercedes. Police identified the suspect as Albert Adjuraini, also reported as Albert Albani Adjuraini, alias “Kah,” a resident of Gata, Talipao, Sulu.
According to RDEU chief Lt. Col. Moh. Madzdie-Aziz Mukaram, the poseur-buyer received three large, heat-sealed transparent plastic packs containing a white crystalline substance allegedly handed over by Adjuraini. Operatives arrested him after the exchange.
Police also reported recovering a genuine P1,000 marked bill placed atop 2,399 pieces of P1,000 boodle money bearing identical serial numbers. Bags and plastic wrapping allegedly used to conceal the suspected drugs and transaction money were also seized.
The operation involved the RDEU-9, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Regional Special Enforcement Team 1 and the Naval Intelligence and Security Group-Western Mindanao, according to the police account.
Authorities said body-worn camera footage and other digital evidence were recorded during the operation. The suspected drugs were turned over to the Regional Forensic Unit 9 for quantitative and qualitative laboratory examination.
At the time of the police report, Adjuraini was being held at Zamboanga City Police Station 4 in Culianan pending the filing of a complaint for alleged violation of Section 5 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Drug identification and evidence remain subject to verification
The reported seizure, arrest and recovery of marked money are based on the police account. The substance was still awaiting laboratory examination in the supplied report, so its identity and final measured weight had not yet been established by the cited forensic findings.
The police statement also did not specify the time of the evidence inventory, the exact time of turnover to the forensic unit or whether laboratory results had been completed. These records are important in establishing the identity, integrity and custody of the seized substance for prosecution.
The P20.4-million figure is an official estimate, not a judicial finding. Adjuraini remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
