DILG: P13.2 billion drugs seized in two weeks

MANILA, Philippines — Anti-narcotics officers confiscated the biggest hauls of shabu and marijuana totaling P13.2 billion in the “history of the government’s war on drugs” from March 6 to 19, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported yesterday.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said one of the major operations during the two-week period was the seizure of shabu amounting to at least P1 billion from a Chinese citizen and his Filipina accomplice in Valenzuela City on March 8.

Ten suspects were apprehended on March 16 by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at a checkpoint in Infanta, Quezon that yielded P12 billion worth of shabu.

Año said the incidents were part of 1,794 drug operations conducted from March 6 to 19, which resulted in the arrest of 2,471 suspects and two casualties. Sixty-one drug suspects surrendered to police.

He said authorities confiscated 1,775.2 kilos of shabu and 421.5 kilos of marijuana during the operations.

“The seizure of tons of shabu and marijuana is a big success in our campaign against drugs. Because of the swift action of the PNP and PDEA, many Filipinos were saved from the drug menace,” Año said in a statement.

“I ask drug enforcement agencies to further intensify their operations and target big drug rings so we can save the people and our country from the ill effects of drugs,” he added.

The PNP and PDEA have launched an all-out war on drugs, with President Duterte’s term nearing its end.