Police killed four suspected drug dealers in a buy-bust operation in Sta. Ana village in Taguig City early Monday morning.
They recovered 40 kilos of shabu worth P272 million during the anti-drug operation that resulted in the shooting encounter along Circumferential Road 6 around 5:35 a.m.
Two of the suspects were identified as Christopher Ocarol and Allan Catalan, both tagged as "drug suppliers" in Cebu. The two others have not been identified.
Taguig City police commander Celso Rodriguez said a composite team from the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group and Taguig City police launched the operation a few days following information about the drug-dealing activity of the suspects.
"Our policemen made a retaliation after the suspects fired at them," he said.
Rodriguez said two bags containing the prohibited substance concealed in tea plastic bags were recovered.
"We asked the help of a chemist to determine the content of the tea bags," he said.
Metro Manila Police Commander Vicente Danao said he ordered his men to identify the suspects to determine if they were members of a drug syndicate.
"We have not yet determined what group these two belong to. We'll check," he said.
The authorities also recovered two baby armalites, a .38 caliber revolver, and a .45-cal pistol at the crime scene.
The Taguig City government commended the police force for its successful anti-narcotics operations.
Just recently, Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano hailed the arrest of a notorious member of the Tinga Drug Syndicate.
Cayetano said last month, the police arrested 12 individuals, two of them minors, and seized more than P20 million worth of shabu and P50,000 worth of marijuana during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Ususan.
The suspects were tagged as street-level targets in the anti-drug operation.