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The military's 6th Infantry Division here has commended soldiers and anti-narcotic agents the arrest of an American ex-soldier and his Filipino wife for possession of prohibited drugs and unlicensed firearms.

"Patience and correct intelligence gathering led to the successful operation," Major General Anthony Alcantara, 6th ID division commander, said.

Lieutenant Colonel Col. Benjamin Hao, 6th ID spokesperson, said Jeffrey Bennitt, a 54-year-old former US Army and his wife Sarah Cabugatan, did not resist arrest when Philippine police and soldiers swooped down on their home in Tamontaka district at 12 noon.

Hao said the raid came after two weeks of surveillance operations. The couple refused to talk to media.

The Army said the raiding team also seized from the couple five-gram of shabu, a 12-gauge shotgun and two high caliber pistols and shabu paraphernalia.

Both are now undergoing interrogation at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) office.- PNA