1,422 suspects nabbed, 38 minors rescued since Jan

A total of 1,422 drug suspects were arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea 11) with 38 minors rescued during their anti-narcotic operation from January to November this year.

Pdea 11 regional director Antonio Rivera, in an AFPPNP Press Corps media forum press forum yesterday, cited that there were a total of 1,058 operations that Pdea conducted compared to the same period last year with 693.

There were 848 individuals arrested for drug pushing by the combined operation of Pdea 11, Philippine National Police (PNP), Task Force Davao and 574 were caught in possession of illegal drugs.

During their operation, they also rescued 38 minors. The youngest was 13 years old while the rest are 14 years old (2); 15 years old (7); 16 years old (10); and 17 years old (18).

“It indicates only one thing, those who are engage in illegal drug trade are using minors because in arresting minors, there are a lot of process before they will be prosecuted. Definitely, they are using minors in their illegal drug trade,” River said.

Meanwhile, a total of 2.37 kilograms of shabu and 48.03 kilograms of marijuana were also seized.

A total of 1,635 cases have been filed before the court against the drug suspects.

“In 2019, we will sustain what we have gained. Hopefully, we will seize lesser next year which would indicate that only few illegal drug is entering the region,” he said.