Bangui buy-bust nets barangay exec, helper

BANGUI, Ilocos Norte — A barangay official and a farm helper were arrested in a buy-bust operation Tuesday afternoon in Barangay Masikil.

Authorities identified the suspects as Harold John Soriano y Molina, 35, a farm owner from Barangay Utol and tagged as a high-value individual, and Jennifer Agtagma y Valiente, 43, a farm helper from Barangay Dadaor.

The operation, carried out around 1:52 p.m. on 3 March, involved the Provincial Police Drug Enforcement Unit, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bangui Municipal Police Station. The suspects were caught selling a heat-sealed plastic sachet containing a white crystalline substance believed to be shabu to a police poseur-buyer.