The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) has strengthened its inspections in seaports and airports in Cebu to prevent the entry of illegal drugs from the National Capital Region (NCR).
Leia Alcantara, PDEA-7 information officer, noted in a presser on Wednesday that most of the illegal drugs seized in sting operations in Cebu were traced from the NCR.
“The source of the shabu came from the NCR. They transported it to Cebu,” Alcantara said, referring to the drugs seizure in Sibonga that traced its source in Valenzuela City.
An anti-drug operation in Valenzuela City on March 7 that led to the seizure of 160 kilos of believed to be shabu worth PHP1.10 billion is said to be “connected” with the March 3 seizure of PHP1.34 million worth of shabu in Sibonga, a southern town of Cebu.
Alcantara said ramping up the agency’s interdiction efforts in the seaports and airports through the K-9 units conducting a random inspection of passenger luggage, will deter attempts of syndicates to sneak drugs into Cebu.
The PDEA-7 information officer said syndicates also took advantage of Cebu’s long unmanned coastlines.
“Actually, we can connect this with PDEA-7’s drug-clearing program, aiming to empower the barangays in conducting their anti-drug interdiction activities in coastlines under their jurisdiction,” she said.
Alcantara added that the agency has also strengthened the efforts to dismantle drug dens down to the barangays in the region.
“We have to stop them before they can become a breeding ground of criminality and disturb the peace and order situation in the community,” she said.
Meanwhile, the PDEA-7 and the local police here arrested a man and his female partner and yielded to authorities 250 grams of illegal drugs suspected to be shabu worth PHP1.7 million in a buy-bust in Barangay Mabolo.
Howard Villajos, 41, and Jessie Torregosa, 22, will be charged with violation of Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Source: Philippines News Agency