Police are expecting illegal drug traders in Cebu City to find means to already resume their operations as the city prepares for a more relaxed quarantine status that may be implemented after the end of the month. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have compelled many to stay at home but there were also those who defied the government’s order to continue with their illegal drugs business.
Some of them were arrested by the police in Central Visayas who also confiscated close to P400 million worth of illegal drugs during the first six months of 2020.
In a report on Thursday, Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of the Police Regional Office (PRO – 7), said that the different police units in the region confiscated 45.32 kilograms of shabu and 573.06 kilograms of marijuana valued at P306 million and P69 million respectively during various operations made from January 1 to July 22.
Confiscated shabu and marijuana totals to P375 million.
“Even if there is COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), illegal drugs here remain rampant and this is why we are still conducting intensified anti-drugs operations despite the pandemic,” Ferro said in a virtual presser on Thursday, July 23.
Ferro said that PRO-7 arrested over 4, 000 drug suspects during the at least 5, 000 operations that were organized during the period. The arrested individuals included close to 300 high-value targets.
Police operations were made with minimal loss of lives.
PRO-7’s anti-drugs campaign was just one of the highlights which Ferro presented when he made his first 100-days report as PRO-7 director. He assumed the leadership of the police office in Central Visayas in February.
Read: PRO-7 director Ferro to criminals: ‘You have no place here’
Ferro replaced Police Brigadier General Valeriano De Leon who was reassigned to Camp Crame.
Aside from organizing successful anti-drug operations, Ferro said that policemen in the region also managed to reduce by 50 percent focus crimes such as homicide, murder, carnapping of vehicles, carnapping of motorcycles, murder, physical injury, rape, robbery, and theft, and arrested members from at least eight rebel groups.
“My first 100 days is a roller coaster (ride) for me. I came in at a time when the pandemic just started to progress… But overall we have done our part to maintain the peace and tranquility here,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Policemen were also tapped to secure the different localities in Cebu and the rest of Cebu island during the implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and after the status of most of the Local Government Units here were downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ).
Their delivery of frontline services caused at least 80 policemen in Cebu to test positive for the coronavirus disease.
PRO – 7 and Camp Crame officials are currently constructing their own molecular laboratory to accommodate COVID-19 tests for law enforcers doing frontline works during the public health crisis. / dcb