PDEA seizes $3.2-M illegal drugs in Malate

Anti-drug agents have seized some $3.2 million (about P176 million) worth of the addictive drug ketamine, chemicals and laboratory equipment in an operation at a hotel in Malate, Manila, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said yesterday.

PDEA chief Director Anselmo Avenido said chemicals were detected after officers of the Sigma Security Agency conducting routine patrol noticed heavy smoke coming out of one of the hotel rooms.

The name of the hotel was withheld pending follow-up operations.

Avenido said security officers opened the room and found a gas stove where a substance was being cooked in a big stainless casserole. Operatives also found a white crystalline substance believed to be shabu packed in transparent self-sealed bags and other placed on aluminum trays.

Further investigation showed that a certain Chen Lim Yong, a Chinese national, rented the room. He was not around during the incident.

Avenido said the seized chemicals and equipment were turned over to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory for further analysis.

Ketamine hydrochloride, called "K" or "Special K" was originally created for use as a human anaesthetic, and is still used by veterinarians to tranquilize pet animals.

A gram of ketamine is worth $90 to $95.

The Dangerous Drug Board has recommended the classification of ketamine and other chemicals as dangerous.

It belongs to a class of drugs called "dissociative anaesthetics," which separate perception from sensation. Ketamine usually comes as liquid in small pharmaceutical bottles, and is often cooked into a white powder for snorting. – Cecille Suerte Felipe