651 minors nabbed for illegal drugs during quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 651 minors aged four to 17 were apprehended in anti-drug operations during the community quarantine.

Data from the government’s RealNumbersPH platform showed that 461 or 70.81 percent of those arrested were drug pushers.

At least 107 were apprehended for drug possession, drug use (40) and visiting drug dens (390). The rest consist of visitors of drug dens, a runner, a shabu laboratory employee, a drug den employee and a drug maintainer.

A total of 3,736 minors have been arrested for drug offenses since President Duterte assumed office in 2016.

Around 2,180 were held for drug pushing, 929 for possession and 412 for drug use. Also nabbed were 189 visitors of drug dens, 12 drug employees, nine drug den maintainers, two cultivators, two runners and an employee of  a clandestine drug laboratory.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Wilkins Villanueva urged local government officials to implement drug rehabilitation programs to minimize the number of users and reduce the demand for prohibited narcotics in the country.