Shabu worth P208M seized in first 2 months

The Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 recorded an 88 percent increase in drugs confiscated in the first two months of 2019 from the same period last year.

Around 30.6 kilos of shabu with an estimated street value of P208 million were seized in January and this month alone.

Supt. Ma. Aurora Rayos, PRO 7 spokesperson, said they were also intensifying their internal cleansing and coordinating with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) in their operations against dangerous drugs.

“As of 2018, 100 percent of our personnel underwent a drug test. We are now starting to conduct surprise drug tests for this year,” she said.

According to Rayos, the PRO 7 filed 54 administrative cases against those who tested positive during their surprise drug tests and those who went absent without official leave (Awol) in 2017. Forty-two cases were resolved, while 12 are pending.

“With regard to anti-illegal drugs cases, we have 34 pending cases in the entire Central Visayas since 2017,” she added.

Last year, the Pdea 7 confiscated an estimated 18 kilos of shabu in the region with a street value of around P151 million.

“We, in synergy with the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), conducted 35 high-impact operations (HIOs) last year and arrested 312 high-value targets,” said Pdea 7 Director Wardley Getalla.

HIOs include arrests involving 500 grams or more of illegal drugs and/or the dismantling of clandestine laboratories that produce dangerous drugs and substances.

Getalla said illegal drugs came from the National Capital Region and Mindanao.