ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR (April 30) — What began as a routine checkpoint inspection led to a major drug bust after authorities uncovered an estimated ₱68 million worth of suspected shabu hidden inside an impounded tricycle-like vehicle.
Police Major Jason Ray Gomera, chief of the provincial highway patrol team, said the illegal drugs were discovered Tuesday evening, April 28, during a Technical Inspection and Inventory Report (TIIR) on a “bao-bao” flagged earlier in Pagadian City.
Tucked beneath the driver’s seat, operatives found 10 plastic packs containing white crystalline substance. The discovery prompted immediate coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group, which later confirmed the haul’s street value at ₱68 million.
The vehicle had been stopped at a checkpoint in Barangay Buenavista after its driver—identified only as “Abdullah”—was cited for unauthorized modification and failure to present registration documents. Authorities said the driver, a resident of Cotabato City, abandoned the vehicle and never returned after receiving a citation.
The seized drugs were inventoried in the presence of local officials and media before being turned over to the drug enforcement group for proper handling.
Investigators are now working to trace the origin and intended destination of the illegal shipment, raising concerns about the continued use of modified public utility vehicles in drug trafficking routes across Mindanao.
