‘Seized shabu in Cavite being sold on streets’
THE P6.8 billion worth of “shabu” ( methamphetamine hydrochloride) found inside magnetic lifters in Cavite are being sold on the streets, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino said on Saturday.
In a statement, Aquino said samples from the intercepted drugs at the Manila International Container Port ( MICP) and illegal drug evidence seized during PDEA’s recent operations were “linked together” with the drugs found days later in Cavite.
This was based on PDEA’s findings after the samples were subjected to impurity drug profiling, which Aquino explained was an analytical technique that helps in establishing links between the confiscated drugs.
The drugs were confiscated in PDEA operations in Sitio Tenorio, ( village) Awang in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao on July 19; Congressional Avenue, Barangay Toro, Quezon City on August 1; Ronquillo Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila on August 26; and in Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City on October 1.
Aquino said the patterns they saw showed “high similarity,” indicating the “strong correlation” among the confiscated illegal drugs as tested by the PDEA laboratory.
On August 7, operatives from PDEA, Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Philippine National Police intercepted 154 pieces of foil- wrapped sealed packs containing 355.8 kilograms of shabu, concealed inside two magnetic lifters at MICP located in North Harbor, Manila.
Two days later, on August 9, four more magnetic lifters were discovered by PDEA agents inside a warehouse at F. Reyes village in General Mariano Alvarez ( GMA), Cavite. Upon PDEA’s inspection, however, the containers were found empty.
“Despite yielding negative results from swab testing, PDEA’s drug- sniffing dogs have responded positively in detecting traces of the illegal drug inside the lifters,” Aquino said.
The lifters were delivered inside the warehouse on July 14 and in the following morning, a forklift operator unloaded the lifters and saw seven Chinese nationals opening the containers using grinders. Two vehicles were seen entering and leaving the warehouse.
Four persons including two Chinese nationals, Aquino added, are facing charges before the prosecutor’s office in Manila.
He again maintained that the magnetic lifters were holding “shabu,” days after he said BoC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña should be held responsible for the actions of his subordinates as provided under the doctrine of command responsibility.
Lapeña, a former PDEA chief, responded to Aquino, saying he should not be blamed entirely for the slipping of shabu into the country, emphasizing that intelligence sharing was important for every joint operation by the PDEA and BoC.
BoC had stressed that it did not receive any intelligence information pertaining to the hidden illegal drugs inside the magnetic lifters.
It was during the term of Lapeña in PDEA in 2017 when P6.4 billion worth of shabu slipped into the country. Lapeña blamed resigned BoC commissioner Nicanor Faeldon for the entry of drugs.
“To this day, PDEA maintains that the four magnetic lifters found in GMA, Cavite contained shabu and stands by its K- 9 capability. PDEA is also convinced that the magnetic lifters found in MICP and Cavite bore close resemblance and are connected to one another,” Aquino said.
He also noted that the selling of the drugs found in Cavite “further indicated” the sudden drop of “shabu” price per gram, to P1,400 per gram from P6,800 in July this year.