CCPO: Fewer drugs expected in Cebu City streets after P30M drug haul

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office. CDN Digital photo | Morexette Marie B. Erram (file photo)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Policemen of the Cebu City Police Office or CCPO are expecting fewer illegal drugs in the city after they confiscated P30 million worth of suspected shabu in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City on Thursday evening, July 8.

The operation also led to the killing of two drug suspects, who allegedly resisted arrest.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, CCPO deputy director for operations, in an interview on Friday, July 9, said the confiscation of the 4.5 kilos of suspected ‘shabu’ or methamphetamine hydrochloride would result to the reduction of supply in the streets.

“We anticipate nga moubos gyud ang supply considering nga sunod-sunod gyud ang dakop, unya motaas ang demand,” said Parilla.

(We anticipate that the supply will go down considering that series of arrests, and the demand will go up.)

Parilla was also referring to the recent buy-bust operations in Barangay Pajo in Lapu-Lapu City and in Barangay Taptap in Cebu City, both of which occurred last month.

READ: IN PHOTOS: Estimated P70M worth of drugs seized in Taptap, Cebu City

The most recent buy-bust operation was in Barangay Taptap on June 10, where three drug personalities were killed in a shootout and led to the confiscation of 10 kilos of suspected shabu with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) value of P70 million.

On June 4, in Lapu-Lapu City, the operation also led to the arrest of two drug suspects and seized 170 grams of shabu amounting to P1.1 million.

READ: 2 men nabbed in Lapu-Lapu buy-bust with over a million worth of ‘shabu’

Parilla also said that the trend of drugs being sold in bulk by kilos now would mean that the government had a good approach in the fight against illegal drugs.

READ: CCPO exec: Confiscated 10K shabu caused dent in drug supply in Cebu City

He also cited there success in their anti-illegal drug operations, stressing that drug suppliers were no longer protected by someone, who would inform them ahead about the operations against them.

“Kon ato na siyang tan-awon in a better perspective, dunay maayong pamaagi ang atong gobyerno nganong nakuha nato, nga subsob gihapon ang atong… pagpakiggubat sa drugas,” Parilla said.

(If we look at it in a better perspective, the government is doing it the right way on why we achieved these results and with this our intensified war against illegal drugs continues.)

“Dili na gyud sila ingon ana ka protektado. Wala na silay tawo nga nag protect nga pwedeng mo timbre nila nga dunay operations,” he said.

(They are no longer protected. They don’t have any contacts to protect them and to inform them of an impending operation against them.)

“So free ang atoang pag operate so mao na nga in return dako ang atoang makuha nga mga supply, nga mababagan, ma-counter nato ang ilahang pag-dispose,” Parilla said.

(So we are free to operate against them and in return we can confiscate a bigger supply of illegal drugs that we can block and also we can now counter how they can dispose of these drugs.)

CCPO exec on Cebu entry points

READ: Police: P68M shabu came from Luzon-based Cebuano drug lord

Based on the report of the Police Drug Enforcement Group, who conducted the operation on Thursday, July 8, that the drug supply reportedly came from Luzon and was shipped as a cargo.

This after the operatives recovered from one of the suspects a receipt for claiming the suspected ‘shabu.

CCPO Deputy Director for Operations said that the shipment of illegal drugs was not detected prior to the shipment and upon arrival in Cebu because Cebu had a lot of entry points where the shabu could be shipped.

He said not all entry points in Cebu were totally closed or secured and this time no people were bringing the illegal drugs themselves but it was sent as a cargo of a ship.

“So kon ang police, or any other law enforcement nag-sige og hunahuna how to detect sa mga illegal contrabands, kani sad sila naghunahuna sad og unsoan nila nga malutsan nila ang mga otoridad,” said the CCPO official.

(So if the police or any other law enforcement agency continue to think about how to detect contraband, these people also think of ways how to pass through the authorities without getting detected.)

” Ang mag-check dinha is civilian, it might be dunay mga civilian sila nga mga contact diha sa kompanya kay nganong nakalusot mani siya sa mga cargos nga padala,” Parilla added. 

(The person who checked the cargo is a civilian, so it might be that there is a civilian in the company, who is their contact, because these cargos passed through without being detected by authorities.)

He said they would also ask that concerned agencies to investigate the ways and means about the shipment.

The CCPO official said he was also grateful that they caught the supply of suspected shabu when it was still in bulk because it would be difficult to monitor it when it would be distributed in the streets..

Meanwhile, one of the dead suspects was identified as Ryan Bendibel, around 30 years old and who resided in Tabuelan town in northern Cebu.

Reportedly, Bendibel was allegedly detained in the town of Tuburan for drug-related charges in the year 2016.

The other dead suspect was John Kerlou Pojas, 22, of Barangay Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City.

READ: P30M worth of ‘shabu’ seized from buy-bust turned armed encounter in Mambaling

/dbs