FLOATING COCAINE

PDEA says a Colombian drug cartel is expanding operations in Philippines

Manila -- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) believes the floating cocaine recovered recently belongs to the Columbian drug cartel, which has expanded its operation in the country.

PDEA Chief Aaron Aquino said Tuesday, February 25, the cocaine recovered off Sorsogon in 2018 contained ethyl acetate and methyl ethyl ketone — two chemicals that are traditionally used by Colombian drug manufacturers.

“Tama ang ating Presidente (Rodrigo Duterte) nung sinabi niya na pumapasok na ang Colombian drug cartel sa atin kasi based doon sa nakuha nating representative sample sa Matnog, Sorsogon, noong 2018, lumalabas na ito ay nagawa sa Colombia (President Rodrigo Duterte was right when he said the Colombian drug cartel is operating in the country, because based on the cocaine samples we got from Matnog, Sorsogon in 2018, it seemed the cocaine was manufactured in Colombia),” Aquino said.

Following the discovery of cocaine bricks in the country’s shoreline, Duterte said the Medellin group of Colombia has expanded operations in the Philippines. This, he added, is a “serious problem.”

Duterte said the illegal drugs were produced in old trawlers and were thrown into the sea with a GPS attached for retrieval.

“We are in danger dahil (because) on the right side, ang Mexico, ang Medellin, Colombia, pumapasok (drugs from Mexico, Medellin, Colombia enter the country). Dito kung makikita mo, lumulutang shabu, cocaine. At mahirap ang Pilipinas dahil pinakamahabang shoreline (Here in the Philippines, you’ll see floating shabu and cocaine, and the Philippines has the longest shoreline),” Duterte said.

“Kulang tayo. So I cannot afford na may isang patrol dito, island per island, ganun kahirap (We don’t have the manpower. So I cannot afford to put patrols in different islands. That’s how difficult it is),” he

added.

According to the Philippine National Police, since February 10, 164.81909 kilos of cocaine worth P871,654,226 were recovered in the country’s eastern seaboards.

But Aquino said only two or three percentage of drug users in the Philippines prefer to use cocaine as compared to shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), marijuana and ecstasy, which is the top three drug substance in the country.

He said it is also possible that the Philippines is being used as a transshipment point of drug cartels.

Investigation

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said investigation and monitoring on the retrieval of the floating cocaine in Surigao and Davao Oriental shorelines are still ongoing.

Commodore Roy Echeverria, Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao commander, said in an interview yesterday that there is already an ongoing joint patrol with Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (Pdea), Philippine National Police (PNP), and local government officials to monitor the coast within their area of responsibility.

He added, “In fact, everyday intensified yung mga maritime patrols natin, lalo na ngayon. Umiikot yung mga coast guard natin.”

On regular days, there are foreign vessels from different countries that dock in the shoreline, covered by their area of responsibility, once or twice a month. The recent record of a foreign vessel in the area was in November 2018 but they have not monitored any suspicious vessel.

“We have already coordinated with the (Bureau of ) Customs para i-monitor yung pumupuntang mga foreign vessels. Perhaps, kung ano pa man ang mga karga nila the next time na may dumating (We have already coordinated with the Bureau of Customs to monitor the incoming foreign vessels. Perhaps, to check what are the cargoes of the vessel next time),” Echeverria said.

Noting that there are vessels passing through the coastal waters, PCG could not inspect those passing vessels as stipulated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

“Under kasi sa International Law, they have the right of innocent passage. Pwede silang dumaan anytime, for as long as they conduct it in good order, wala silang threat sa ating security. Wala tayong pwedeng gawin sa kanila kundi hayaan lang natin silang dumaan,” Echeverria said.