PDEA destroys P2.25B worth of shabu in Cavite

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) destroyed P2.25 billion worth of dangerous drugs on Tuesday at a facility in Cavite.

 

Destroyed through thermal decomposition at Integrated Waste Management Inc.  in Barangay Aguado, Trece Martirez City were a total of 577,719.4 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu; ephedrine, cocaine, marijuana, diazepam or valium; and expired medicines.

 

Thermal decomposition is the process by which various compounds are broken down into single units by the application of heat. Reconstruction of the substances is impossible.

 

Based on the consolidated report of the PDEA Laboratory Service, the seized shabu, weighing 559,716.8 grams, constitutes 99.5 percent, or P2,238,867,200 of the total amount of illegal drugs destroyed at the site.

 

"Majority of the burned shabu were seized from big anti-drug raids that happened last year in Subic, Zambales;  Lipa, Batangas and those turned over by the Quezon City Police District,” PDEA Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr. said.

 

More than 400 kilos of shabu were discovered by authorities in a rented house in Subic, Zambales that led to the arrest of six drug personalities on Aug. 11, 2013.

 

Authorities also  raided on Dec. 25, 2013 a storage facility found inside a game fowl farm in Lipa, Batangas where P420 million worth of shabu was confiscated. The farm was reportedly leased by alleged members of the dangerous Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel.

 

"Today’s destruction is the highest in terms of total value and gross weight of dangerous drugs destroyed since the country’s shabu haul of over 700 kilograms in Subic last May 2008 that were eliminated only months after," Cacdac said.

 

"We want the public to witness the destruction of dangerous drugs seized by drug enforcement officers in order to allay public apprehensions that these illicit substances are being reused, recycled or sold back in the streets," he added.

 

Cacdac lauded the efforts of the different branches of Regional Trial Courts in the cities of Manila, Pasay, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Malolos, Olongapo, and Lipa, for the expeditious prosecution and disposition of drug cases, prompting the destruction of the illegal drugs and substances no longer needed as evidence in court.

  

PDEA officials, representatives from the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and local government, non-government organizations and media partners also witnessed the event.