Agents of PDEA-7 nab a former mixed martial artist inside his house with P3.4 million worth of illegal drugs in Barangay Lahug in Cebu City on Saturday, December 3, 2022.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Close to P1.3 billion worth of dangerous drugs were seized during the different operations made in Central Visayas from Jan. 1 to Dec. 12, 2022.
Operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) and the local police conducted a total of 8, 354 joint operations, according to Leia Alcantara, the PDEA-7 spokesperson.
Alcantara said a total of 6, 088 drug suspects were also neutralized.
With the success of their operations, Alcantara said, a larger volume of illegal drugs were taken from the local market.
Alcantara said the volume of illegal drugs that were confiscated this year was so much more compared to the volume that was seized last year, which was valued at P761 million. Their inventory includes shabu, marijuana and nubain.
Several anti-drug operations were also made last year which totalled to 7, 923 while 6, 342 drug suspects were arrested.
Alcantara said that to date, 48.55 percent or 1, 458 of the 3, 003 barangays in the region remain drug-affected. A total of 1, 429 barangays were already given a drug-cleared status while 116 are considered as drug-free.
Central Visayas, Alcantara said, is also among the “super regions” in the country. Super regions are areas that are heavily affected by the proliferation of illegal drugs.
Central Visayas shares the classification with the National Capital Region (NCR), CALABARZON, and Central Luzon.
Jonar Cuayzon, chief of the Intelligence Section of PDEA-7, said Central Visayas is considered a “super region” because it has a wide market for illegal drugs. The region is also being used as a transshipment for shabu and other illegal drugs.
Of the different localities here, Cebu City is considered as the most drug-affected, Cuayzon said.
“Within Central Visayas, Cebu City mao atoang dakong problema, in terms of population. Sa commerce, education, naa sa Cebu City ang sentro. Geographical location, naa sa tunga. Daku nga market sad kay ang drug syndicates medyo maka blend kay daghan man ang dayo,” Cuayzon said.
Cuayzon said they are also trying to verify reports that there are local politicians who are also involved in illegal drug trade.
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