NCRPO raids 8 jails; cash, drugs seized

MANILA, Philippines - Around 300 police officers raided eight detention facilities at the 48-hectare compound of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig yesterday.

The raiders seized 100 blue books and ledgers indicating the drug transactions of the inmates, including a bank deposit of P2.5 million and the delivery receipts for orders of 200 to 500 grams of shabu to clients outside the jails, NCRPO chief Director Oscar Albayalde said.

“All the while we have been focusing on the continued drug problem at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. We forgot that we have the same problem here at the NCRPO headquarters,” Albayalde said.

Over 100 mobile phones, 10 laptops, 20 sachets of shabu, gambling and drug paraphernalia, bladed weapons, pocket wi-fi and routers, 11 DVD players, portable speakers, several SIM cards and memory cards and P229,750 in cash were confiscated during the conduct of Oplan Galugad.

Albayalde said they conducted the raid amid reports that inmates, especially foreigners and Chinese held at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) jail, remained involved in drug deals.

At least 60 mobile phones were seized from the BI jail alone, police said.

Albayalde said the eight detention facilities at the NCRPO headquarters are housing around 6,000 detainees, with 90 percent of them facing drug charges.

Inmates wait as police officers conduct Oplan Galugad at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig yesterday. EDD GUMBAN

Authorities also swooped down on the detention cells of high-value detainees, including members of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, Moro National Liberation Front and members of the Ampatuan clan and their co-accused in the Maguindanao massacre.

The other detention cells raided by police were the Metro Manila district jail, Quezon City jail annex, Manila city jail and the Taguig dormitories for male and female detainees, NCRPO intelligence chief Senior Superintendent Eleazar Matta said.

“Our information regarding the continued drug transactions inside jails was confirmed with the confiscation of the blue books showing the amount of shabu delivered and cash deposited in banks,” Matta said.

The raid was conducted by the NCRPO intelligence division and Regional Public Safety Battalion in coordination with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.