PCG, PDEA foil entry of ship with 5 tons shabu

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Sunday prevented a vessel suspected to be carrying five tons of shabu valued at P34 billion from entering the country through Mindoro.

In an information released yesterday, the PCG said its personnel and the PDEA “collaborated in averting the entry of a vessel suspected to be loaded with a large volume of illegal drugs outside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) closest to the coast of Mindoro.”

Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, PCG commandant, said the coast guard and PDEA embarked on the operation amid bad weather and rough seas to fulfill its mission to deny the vessel entry within Philippine territory.

“The success of this operation highlighted the effectiveness of the national government’s anti-illegal drug campaign and law enforcement operations within our maritime jurisdiction to prevent the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country,” Gavan said.

He added that the operation underscored the importance of international cooperation and effectiveness of interagency collaboration.

Citing intelligence reports, PDEA spokesman Joseph Frederick Calulut said the ship was carrying about five tons or 5,000 kilos of shabu when it was spotted.

The PCG did not disclose the identity of the vessel.

There is also no information yet on where the ship originated.

“We are still waiting for other reports. But we know that, based on intelligence reports, the vessel would enter the Philippines,” Calulut said in Filipino.

Both the PCG and PDEA said that the ship entered the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone but changed its course due to the presence of a PCG vessel.

Last year, several kilos of shabu were found floating in the waters off Bataan and Zambales.

There have been previous cases wherein large quantities of illegal drugs were smuggled into the Philippines through the country's territorial waters.