More drugs, guns seized in Bilibid raid

MANILA, Philippines - Sachets of shabu and improvised weapons were found in yesterday’s raid on the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

A Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Special Weapons and Tactics team, backed up by drug-sniffing dogs and their handlers, conducted the raid on Dormitory 8 at around 5 a.m., NBP superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf Jr. said.

The raiding team caught a convict with 42 sachets of shabu in his possession. They also recovered an improvised firearm fitted with a silencer, he added.

Schwarzkopf said they “recovered a large quantity of illegal drugs” as well as television sets and other electronic appliances.

He denied reports that thousands of sex enhancement pills were confiscated during the raid, the eighth in recent weeks.

BuCor chief Rainier Cruz III said they have to conduct raids regularly since the detainees sometimes just transfer the contraband from one building to another, ABS-CBN reported.

There are not enough prison guards to monitor the inmates, officials said. The maximum security compound alone has about 14,000 inmates but only 35 to 40 guards per shift.

With the large number of visitors during the holidays, the BuCor said it will implement tighter security measures to prevent visitors from smuggling contraband into the prison.

Last week, BuCor placed six prison guards at the medium security compound under investigation after mobile phones and illegal drugs were found in their lockers during a raid.