Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Roderick Mariano said that the illegal drugs confiscated in Cebu province come from outside sources. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— For the month of January alone, policemen in Metro Cebu confiscated a total of 12, 674 kilos of suspected shabu worth at least P85.7 million.
The illegal drugs haul is an indication of how much the community now trust their law enforcers, said Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CCPO).
“We (have) gained the trust of our community in giving (us) information (on illegal drug activities in their areas). Kung wala yung trust ng community, hindi natin mahuhuli yung mga drugs (If we don’t have the trust of the community, we won’t be able to make illegal drugs confiscation),” he said.
The bulk of the illegal drugs came from 30 individuals who were arrested in separate buy-bust operations in Cebu City from January 1 to 27, 2020. The confiscated shabu amounted to P41.1 million.
Policemen in Mandaue City confiscated P27 million worth of illegal drugs, Consolacion – P7.4 million, Talisay City – P5.4 million, and and Lapu-Lapu City -P4.8 million.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Clark Arriola, spokesperson of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said that the confiscation of P41.1 million worth of shabu in Cebu City is a manifestation of their successful anti-illegal drugs operations.
“This is a result of the relentless effort of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to cleanse our area of responsibility of illegal drugs,” he said.
Arriola said that policemen in the city are doing their best to rid the 80 barangays of illegal drugs supply.
As a preparation for their anti-drugs campaign, Ariola said policemen are sent to conferences to learn strategies on how to better plan their operations.
While the supply of shabu remains abundant here, Mariano said these come from localities located outside of Cebu province.
Quoting the outcome of their intelligence gathering, Mariano said they have not detected the operation of a shabu laboratory here.
Still, they continue to patrol especially the mountain barangays in Cebu province which may be used as hideouts of local drug personalities. /dcb