P111M worth of shabu seized in one day in Central Visayas

Two men were arrested with P22, 440 worth of ‘shabu’ during a buy-bust operation conducted in Barangay Sambag 1, in Cebu City on Saturday, July 9, 2022. | Photo courtesy of Abellana Police Station

CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least P111 million worth of suspected shabu was seized in Central Visayas with 199 drug personalities arrested during a one-day anti-criminality operations from July 9 to July 10, 2022.

Police Brigadier General Roque Eduardo Vega, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), in his press release, stated that these confiscations were from 165 anti-illegal drug operations. Of these operations, 199 drug personalities were nabbed with some listed as high-value individuals.

“Patuloy ang laban natin kontra droga at ito ay na-aayon sa batas, partikular na ang karapatang pantao. Tulungan ninyo kami sa laban na ito,” Vega said in a press statement released on July 11, 2022.

Aside from the anti-illegal drug operations, police also arrested 266 persons for illegal gambling, and 22 for possession of loose firearms with 221 confiscated firearms, including five explosives. Further, they also arrested 196 wanted persons in the said period.

In Cebu City, Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, information officer of the Cebu City Police Office, said that they arrested 41 drug personalities in Cebu City. The majority of these were street-level individuals.

“That’s unfortunate to report because despite the efforts of the government, aduna gihapoy mga tawo nga willing mo enter in this kind of trade which they know nga ang ultimate gyud nila nga end is madakpan sila, mapriso og madaut ang kaugmaon. That is something nga angay tutukan,” Macatangay said.

Macatangay further said that she could not tell that there is an increase in the number of drug personalities that they arrest in the city.

“Dili gyud nga makaingon ta nga nagkadaghan kay every week, duna gyud tay madakpan man. Siguro, ang atoang masabtan ana nga data, aduna gyud sa atoa nga kumunidad ang illegal drugs. Siguro, sa pagpa hibaw nato ani, magpabilin lang ta nga magbinantayon ug tabangi intawon mi nga atoa ni sila mahipos nga mga nagpayuhot og illegal substance because once muabot na sa community, esp sa atoang kabataan, madaot sila,” Macatangay said.

“The fight against illegal drugs is not the sole responsibility of the police or other law enforcement agencies. This, should also concern the public, and their cooperation is also needed to address this perennial problem of illegal drugs,” Macatangay added.

/bmjo

READ: P39-M drug haul in 2 separate Cebu City buy-bust operations – police