22 PDEA informants get P4.9-M reward

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency yesterday gave at least P4.9 million in cash reward to 22 informants under the PDEA’s Operation Private Eye (OPE).

PDEA chief Wilkins Villanueva handed out the monetary rewards to the informants at the agency’s central office in Quezon City.

Villanueva said OPE is a program that encourages the public to report illegal drug activities in their communities.

As a precaution against the coronavirus disease, only three informants attended the awarding rites.

The three – identified through their code names Ferdi, Dark Horse and Nonong – wore face masks to conceal their identities.

Ferdi received P542,156 for a tip that led to the arrest of three drug suspects and the seizure of P102 million worth of shabu in Bacoor City, Cavite on March 5.

Dark Horse was given P594,035 for his information, which resulted in the arrest of two suspected drug dealers in Matnog, Sorsogon on Jan. 20. The operation yielded over P132.4 million worth of shabu.

Nonong received P1.25 million for his information, which led to the apprehension of a suspected drug trafficker and the seizure of P800 million worth of shabu last December.

Six PDEA operating units received P5.9 million for their accomplishments in the government’s war on drugs.

Smuggled cigarettes

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently confiscated P186.9 million worth of cigarettes reportedly smuggled from China.

BOC personnel seized seven shipping containers of cigarettes at the Manila International Container Port.

Charges of violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act will be filed against the consignee of the shipments, the BOC said.