PDEA to put up seaport units nationwide vs illegal drugs

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Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Tuesday it will set up a unit in every regional seaport of the country to curb illegal drug trade.

PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña said the Seaport Interdiction Unit (SIU) will be established in all the PDEA Regional Offices.

"To effectively and efficiently curb trafficking of illegal drugs through the ports, it is deemed necessary to establish a dedicated unit to guard these avenues," he said, citing the Agency's Memorandum Circular No. 2017030 dated July 24, 2017.

The interdiction units are specifically tasked to prevent the entry and exit of illegal drugs through seaports; conduct seaport interdiction operations that deal with the identification and interception of smuggled contrabands, and conduct validation and investigation pertaining to the illegal drug activities in the seaport.

The units will also take the lead role in the joint investigation of cases resulting from anti-drug operations in ports; and process and analyze information on passengers suspected to be involved in drug-related activities as well as shipping companies suspected of smuggling dangerous drugs and/ or controlled precursors and essential chemicals (CPECs).

The SIU will establish a comprehensive information collection plan that shall enable the agency to obtain information on illegal drug activities from different sour ces.

“All concerned Regional Directors shall identify their priority seaports for the establishment of SIU and shall assigned personnel to carry out its functions," Lapeña added.

With 7,107 islands, PDEA noted the Philippines has one of the longest coastlines in the world which stretches 36,289 kilometers. It extends 2,000 kilometers from Batanes to Jolo encompassing 25 major cities located on the coast. It is also estimated that more than 60 percent of the Philippine population lives along the coast.

“Our country’s archipelagic nature provides only two ingress and egress ways. Besides air, international drug trafficking organizations have to go by water to cover the Philippine market. We need to seal off our waters from becoming a transit and dropping points for large volumes of illegal drugs,” the PDEA chief said.

In 2008, 744 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, were intercepted in Subic, Zambales, while 433 kilos of shabu were also confiscated in the area in 2014.

On July 12, 2016, a floating shabu laboratory was discovered and dismantled off the coast of Zambales.

Recovery of 590 kilograms of cocaine, which were dumped from a Chinese vessel in the coast of Eastern Samar, was also recorded in 2009.