Quad-intel force formed against illegal drug syndicates

Law enforcement agencies have formed a quad-intelligence alliance in a bid to rid their ranks of scalawags and deal with drugs syndicates and drug personalities still operating in Metro Manila.

“This is a breakthrough and good starting point of whole-government approach against illegal drugs at least here in

Metro Manila. We hope to consolidate all our efforts to work as one and to move as one to deal a big blow to drugs syndicates,” said Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), Eleazar.

The quad-intel alliance which was formed Friday is composed of the Phillipine Drug Enforcement Agency National Capital Region ((PDEA-NCR), National Bureau of Investigation (NBINCR), the military’s Joint Task ForceNCR, and the NCRPO.

The heads of these agencies in Metro Manila – PDEA-NCR director Joel Plaza, NBI-NCR lawyer Cesar Bacani, JTFNCR commander Brig. Gen. Alexander Cruz Luna and Eleazar held a meeting Friday to come up with guidelines on how the four government agencies would address the illegal drugs problems.

“We are all here to show a united stand for the campaign against illegal drugs by forming the first-ever formal alliance of the PDEA-NCR, NCRPO, NBI-NCR and the JTF-NCR to run after the scalawags in our ranks, consolidate our intelligence and operational plans to shield Metro Manila from the entry of new drug supplies and at the same time, sweep all the illegal drugs that have already been distributed in the metropolis,” their joint statement read.

“Our goal is clear: No compromise among our ranks and zero tolerance against who continuously defy and brazenly challenge the government might against illegal drugs,” it added.

It was Eleazar who initiated the meeting following the reported prevailing practice of anti-narcotics operatives setting aside a portion of drugs confiscated during a narcotics operation and sell them to drug dealers at their preferred price.

58 per cent decrease in crime rate

No less than President Duterte confirmed the prevailing practice among some anti-narcotics agents known as ninja cops.

The Senate has invited top PNP officials on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

“The campaign against illegal drugs by President Duterte has been very successful and this is manifested by the 58 percent decrease of crime rate in Metro Manila in the past three years. Based on the intelligence reports of not only the NCRPO but also the PDEA, NBI, and the military, drugs syndicates are now having difficulty making transactions as compared before,” said Eleazar.

“The government has already accomplished a lot but these accomplishments are always sidelined by these allegations of recycling and ninja cops. So we decided to act on this and that is the reason that we were able to establish the QuadIntelligence Force of NCRPO, PDEA, NBI and JTF-NCR,” he added.

Eleazar said there would be intelligence-sharing among the four law enforcement agencies and the result would be used to come up with the list of priority targets in the campaign against illegal drugs in Metro Manila.

But this early, one of the priorities is Guia Castro, a barangay chairperson in Sampaloc, Manila tagged as Metro Manila’s ‘Drug Queen’.

While the PDEA, NBI and the NCRtheir PO have already launched successful operations in the past that led to the arrest of Castro’s several relatives and drug couriers, the Quad-Intel Force is expected to run after Castro and her alleged remaining distributors.

But Eleazar said Castro is just one of the targets as there are remaining key operators of drug distribution in Metro Manila.