CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: A Filipino lawyer and an Australian, both tagged by the police as “high-value targets” (HVTs) were arrested in separate buy-busts in Northern Mindanao this week. Lawyer Marlon Yap, of Cagayan de Oro City, was nabbed in downtown Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday night. Mark Andrew Jones, 57, was collared in a buy-bust in Iligan City on Tuesday. Police said Yap, listed as among the top HVTs in the illegal drug trade, was found with shabu in his possession. Yap denied the accusation, saying he was never engaged in illegal drug activities. He called on owners of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras around the street to prove that plainclothes policemen had ganged up on him. Wilkins Villanueva, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) regional director in Northern Mindanao, said Jones was arrested in a buy-bust at Doña Maria Subdivision in Tipanoy, Iligan City. Jones was found with the marked money, shabu weighing about 6.249 grams estimated at P 47,000 and a motorcycle.
