Two men with at least P348,000 worth of suspected shabu are arrested by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) during a buy-bust operation on Monday noon, July 13, 2020 in Barangay Pasil, Cebu City. | Photo from PDEA-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Eleven buy-bust operations in a week in Central Visayas yielded P2.6 million worth of suspected shabu and netted 23 drug personalities.
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), the 11 operations were conducted in Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Bohol and Negros Oriental from July 12 to July 18.
The anti-illegal drugs operations led to the arrest of high-value targets, plea bargainer and the dismantling of a suspected drug den.
The total drug haul for the week weighed at 391.35 grams with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P2,661,180.
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PDEA-7 Director Levi Ortiz said that despite this time of the pandemic, the agency continued to try to suppress the drug supply being distributed around Central Visayas.
”Ang atoang drug operation is very vigorous with the active support of the PNP and other law enforcement counterparts. The respective barangays aktibo na sad sa paghatag nato og information,” said Ortiz in a phone interview with CDN Digital.
(Our drug operation is very vigorous with the active support of the PNP and other law enforcement counterparts. The respective barangays are again active in providing us with information.)
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Ortiz said that the recent arrest of the drug personalities were successful through the thorough intelligence-based monitoring with the help of the information given by the barangays.
He said that although there were still individuals they were monitoring, who were included on the watchlist, there had also been a need to identify, who the new drug dealers were that have resurfaced especially with the change of the security system since the COVID-19 happened.
He said that continuous cooperation among the counterparts of PDEA-7 would surely help with the goal of cutting the illegal drugs supply and use in the region./dbs