ILOILO City – Shabu and marijuana confiscated last month in various parts of Western Visayas had a combined value of P32.7 million, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 6 and Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The two law enforcement agencies conducted antidrug operations jointly.
They were also able to arrest a combined 141 drug suspects in January, according to PDEA-6 director Alex Tablate.
Their biggest confiscation was made on Jan. 24. Two men were arrested at BREDCO Port in Bacolod City and yielded three kilos of shabu worth P20.4 million.
Tablate said Bacolod City and Negros Occidental were still the sources of illegal drugs being peddled in Iloilo city and province and other areas of Panay Island.
But where do they come from?
Tablate believed they were “from Luzon area” and transported to Bacolod City via for “safekeeping” until it was “right to distribute to high-value individuals”
PDEA-6 is also monitoring five drug groups in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
Some of their members have been arrested but the groups have started using new personalities whom the police are not familiar with.
“Hndi tayo humihinto sa pag alam ng kanilang new members. As much as possible mga high-value individuals ang ating target ngayon,” Tablate said./PN
