P4.6B worth of shabu seized in 2013

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said it seized a total of 834 kilograms of shabu worth approximately P4.6 billion during anti-drug operations from January to December 2013.

The PDEA, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies, said it is a substantial increase in the confiscation of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, for 2013.

PDEA Director General Arturo Cacdac, Jr. said the seizure rate this year is seven times more than the shabu seizures in the previous year and the combined volume of confiscated shabu in the last four years.

"The 834 kilos of seized shabu in 2013 easily surpassed the 112 kilos seizure in 2012, a remarkable increase of 643 percent. The figures also bested the combined output of 578 kilos of shabu seized from 2009 to 2012,” Cacdac said.

The consolidated figures were the results of the high volume seizures made by the Philippine National Police-Anti Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force during the interdiction operation in Subic, Zambales where 432 kilos of shabu worth over P2 billion were confiscated on August 11; the National Bureau of Investigation raid in Tondo, Manila where 62 kilos of shabu worth P314 million were discovered; the 45 kilos seized by the PDEA Special Enforcement Service in Las Piñas City on September 13, 2013; and  the PDEA and PNP raid in Lipa City, Batangas on December 25, 2013 which resulted in the seizure of 84 kilos of shabu worth P420 million, among other accomplishments.

"The PDEA’s foremost mission is to suppress the supply and neutralize the source of dangerous drugs,” Cacdac said, citing the dismantled clandestine shabu laboratory in Sta. Rita, Guiguinto, Bulacan on Dec. 20, 2013.

From January to December 2013, PDEA and other law enforcement agencies conducted 16,144 anti-drug operations which resulted in the arrest of 8,674 drug personalities and the seizure of P5.3 billion worth of dangerous drugs, and controlled precursors and essential chemicals.

Of the total arrested drug personalities, 73 are foreign nationals who are either involved in the selling, possession, trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group, an inter-agency collaboration led by PDEA to control the flow of illegal drugs through the NAIA complex, has arrested four drug couriers who yielded a total of P103 million worth of shabu and cocaine.

“The period also saw an increase in the conduct of marijuana eradication operations wherein 419 marijuana plantations sites were destroyed, resulting in the destruction of marijuana plants and seedlings worth P471 million, compared to the 188 illegal hemp cultivation sites eradicated in 2012, the highest since 2002,” Cacdac said.

For the period, 10,000 drug cases were filed in court for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, demonstrating PDEA’s commitment to file airtight cases to ensure conviction of drug offenders.