‘Party drugs’ seized in CPDRC raid

CEBU, Philippines — Shabu and cellphones continue to thrive within Cebu’s biggest jail but yesterday’s raid proved that a new contraband has got its way into the facility: party drug.

At least 100 tablets of what appeared to be party drugs were part of the haul of the police from their greyhound at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center that also included 199 cellphones, 28 packs of suspected shabu worth about P200,000, marijuana sticks, tobacco leaves, small weighing scale and other paraphernalia used in packing drugs.

Cash amounting to P89,290 was also recovered.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7 will conduct laboratory tests to check whether the undetermined tablets are indeed party drugs or ecstasy.

According to PDEA-7 information officer Leia Albiar, it was coined “party drug” because it is usually taken by people who go to clubs and parties to enhance the feeling of pleasure, energize them, and boost their confidence.

“Ecstasy is a type of party drug. If abused, this drug would lead to hallucination, paranoia, increased blood pressure, vomiting, and even death,”

If the tests will turn out positive, there is a big possibility that party drugs are also being traded outside the jail, said PDEA-7 Director Wardley Getalla.

“Walang report tungkol doon pero may na-recover sa greyhound na mga undetermined/unknown tablets. Kapag malalaman natin (ecstasy), may posibilidad din dito sa labas sapagkat alam naman natin na kung mahirap ipasok sa loob mas lalo sa labas,” said Getalla.

This early though, Senior Supt. Manuel Abrugena, Cebu Provincial Police Office director who served as the commander during the greyhound, said their intelligence monitoring on the possible entrance of party drugs to Cebu has been intensified.

Meanwhile, Police Regional Office-7 Director Chief Supt. Debold Sinas said the discovery of cellphones, sim cards, and wi-fi modem in the jail was proof that some inmates were still able to communicate with those from outside.

He also emphasized that the PNP did not conduct the raid to find fault in the jail management but rather to give constructive inputs to make the system better. He said jail management is not an easy job.

This was the second time that a greyhound operation was conducted at CPDRC, but compared to the operation in February, yesterday’s operation covered more ground. Over 600 cops were deployed, all 119 cells were inspected, and four police personnel were assigned to each cell.

CPDRC warden Reynaldo Valmoria said he requested PRO-7’s help after receiving a tip that drugs will be sneaked into the facility in time for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima that is celebrated inside the jail during the first week of September.

Valmoria said that since Monday, a series of activities have been organized, culminating in a celebration today in which the inmates will share 140 lechons. The fund used in the celebration was sourced from the savings from inmates’ meal allowance.

Valmoria said the dalaw or visitation privileges of the inmates were suspended after the greyhound yesterday.

He said fiesta activities inside will still continue as scheduled.

Home to 3,941 inmates, CPDRC has an ideal capacity of around 1,500 only, meaning the center is overcrowded by nearly 200 percent. — Lorraine Mitzi A. Ambrad/JMD (FREEMAN)