Manila, Aug. 28 -- A suspected drug den operator and big-time peddler of prohibited drugs was killed after trading shots with law enforcement officers during a buy-bust operation in Maguindanao del Sur on Wednesday afternoon.

Director Gil Cesario Castro of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) identified the slain suspect as "Alias Dhats," a resident of Nunangan, Datu Anggal Midtimbang town.

"He resisted arrest and fired at our approaching law enforcers," Castro said in a report released Thursday. Joint police, Army and PDEA operatives returned fire, injuring Alias Dhats.

He was rushed to a hospital in Cotabato City but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Authorities sei...