P’sinan police seize more shabu, marijuana this year

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines – The volume of shabu and marijuana seized by provincial police anti-narcotics agents rose by 222 and 805 percent, respectively, this year, an official said Wednesday.

Superintendent Benjamin Ariola, chief of operations and plans of the Pangasinan police office, reported the figures during Wednesday’s anti-illegal drug summit here.

Ariola said for this year, they seized 999.63 grams of shabu compared to 310.28 grams last year. He said the volume of marijuana seized this year was 3,432.84 grams, while last year was 379.20 grams.

The police official said the rise in the volume of seized drugs was a result of 437 anti-narcotics operations conducted in the whole province.

The anti-drug operations also resulted in the arrest of three village officials and 591 suspected drug traffickers and users and the filing of 628 cases in court, Ariola said.

Among the province’s 44 towns and four cities, only the municipalities of Sto. Tomas and Balungao listed no drug suspects arrested.

Gov. Amado Espino Jr. said the summit was aimed at enlightening officials and residents on issues affecting the province’s anti-drug campaign and to identify measures to address the problem.