Bulacan drug war: 123 dead in 6 months

MALOLOS, Philippines — At least 123 drug suspects have been killed in police operations in Bulacan since January, police said yesterday.

Col. Chito Bersaluna, Bulacan police director, said the fatalities were reported from Jan. 1 to Thursday.

Bersaluna said the 848 anti-drug operations also resulted in the arrest of 1,216 suspects.

He said 3,295 sachets of shabu, 401 sachets of marijuana and 144 assorted guns were also confiscated.

Meanwhile, two drug suspects were killed in stings in Laguna and Nueva Ecija yesterday.

Col. Eleazar Matta, Laguna police director, said Renz Avila and Anthony Carait shot it out with police officers who posed as buyers of shabu in Barangay San Antonio, Biñan, Laguna.

Matta said the suspects yielded two caliber .38 revolvers, P1,500 in marked money, seven sachets of shabu and a Rusi motorcycle.

Ferdinand Rapanot, 54, was also killed in an alleged shootout with anti-narcotics agents in Barangay Quezon, Cabanatuan City.

In Kalinga, at least 14,600 fully grown marijuana plants valued at P3 million were uprooted during a raid on plantations in Barangays Buscalan and Loccong in Tinglayan also yesterday, Maj. Nestor Lopez of the Kalinga Mobile Force Company said. 

In Zamboanga City, P1 million worth of shabu were recovered from three persons arrested in drug busts in Barangays San Jose and Tugbungan. – Non Alquitran, Raymund Catindig, Ric Sapnu, Roel Pareño, Romina Cabrera