P6.08 billion shabu seized in Pangasinan

LABRADOR, Pangasinan, Philippines — Another large stash of shabu with an estimated street value of P6.08 billion was seized in an anti-narcotics operation in this town on Friday night.

The raid on a property in Barangay Laois was a follow-up to a sting conducted on Thursday afternoon along Olongapo-Bugallon Road in the nearby town of Bugallon, where shabu with an estimated street value of P850 million was seized, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

PDEA chief Isagani Nerez said up to 895 kilos of shabu stashed in tea bags with Chinese markings and placed in 40 large sacks were found in a warehouse in Labrador.

Nerez said several sacks of shabu were also found in a Toyota Grandia van and Toyota Innova parked in the area, indicating the illegal substance was about to be transported to other areas when the raiding team arrived.

The anti-narcotics operation in Bugallon also resulted in the arrest of a Chinese national identified only as “Monkey,” 40, and his Filipino accomplice.

Nerez said the suspects provided information that led PDEA agents to a property in Labrador where the sacks of shabu were found.

The PDEA expressed belief that an international drug syndicate was behind the entry of shabu in Bugallon and Labrador.

Nerez has formed a joint team composed of PDEA agents and police officers to trace the origin of the illegal substance and determine its potential link to international drug syndicates.

He said the registered owners of the vehicles and the property where the sacks of shabu were discovered would be investigated.

The P6.08-billion shabu was one of the largest illegal drug hauls by the PDEA in Northern Luzon in recent years, Nerez said.

He attributed the success of the operation to the close coordination among the PDEA, Philippine National Police-Drug Enforcement Group, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Bureau of Investigation and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — Emmanuel Tupas