Police Major Alejandro Batobalonos, head of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG-7) in the Visayas. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A police official here admitted that drug personalities are now more ‘innovative’ and ‘careful’ in their transactions, which has caused growing concern on the part of the authorities.
Police Major Alejandro Batobalonos, in charge of the regional Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG-7), said that drug personalities in Central Visayas are now using aliases and code names in their transactions and have taken advantage of the money transfer services, particularly those done online, as a mode of payment to evade being identified.
These schemes, Batibalonos said, are giving them a hard time in identifying these drug personalities unless these were arrested during their operations or when they get information from their confidential informants.
To counter this, Batobalonos said that the PDEG-7 is doing backtracking with identified drug personalities to identify their possible cohorts and their illegal activities.
“Among gimonitor ang identified drug dealer, disposer, usahay maglisod ta sa pagdakop kay wa natay makuha nga identity kay putol man, wa na sila kaila [source],” he said.
(We monitor identified drug dealers, disposers. Sometimes, it is hard for us to arrest them since we cannot establish their identities, they no longer know their sources.)
Batobalonos further appeals to money transfer companies to take initiatives and steps to stop drug personalities from using their services for illegal activities.
He added that these companies must initiate stricter guidelines in sending and receiving money.
“Upgrade na sila permi, ug nag upgrade mi sila pod. We are two steps ahead, sila three steps ahead pod,” he added.
(They are always upgrading. If we are two steps ahead, they would be three steps.)
Based on their operations last year, Batobalonos said most of the active drug personalities were new players.
Drug dealers, Batobalonos said, continue to ‘recruit’ new personalities to engage for them to continue their illegal drug trade.
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