Leia Alcantara, spokesperson of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7). | Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A total of eight suspected drug dens were shut down in Central Visayas from January 1 to February 16, 2024, as revealed by anti-drug operatives.
Leia Alcantara, spokesperson of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), disclosed the latest count on Friday, February 16.
She stated that PDEA-7 operatives had closed down five drug dens in Cebu City, two in the province of Cebu, and one in Tagbilaran City since the beginning of the year.
Alcantara highlighted that the dismantling of drug dens is considered a high-impact operation. She emphasized the alarming nature of the total number of drug dens, especially as some of these operations took place in drug-cleared barangays.
Alcantara explained that areas previously cleared of drugs are not always immune to the return of illegal drug activities. This is the case with San Francisco, a municipality in Cebu province, which previously held the status of a drug-cleared municipality. Recently, PDEA-7 dismantled two suspected drug dens in the municipality.
Despite the alarming situation, Alcantara stated that the dismantling of these drug dens proves the effectiveness of their monitoring mechanisms.
She commended the proactive involvement of the local government units (LGUs), which were the ones reporting the illegal drug operations.
Alcantara also revealed that most of these drug dens were operated in the houses of drug dealers.
Furthermore, she provided some tell-tale signs that a house or structure may be a drug den or involved in illegal drug operations.
These signs include excessive foot traffic, 24-hour activity, numerous unfamiliar visitors, and the presence of drug paraphernalia such as foil and used lighters in the vicinity.
“Usa gyud sa timailhan nga possible drug den ang balay ang foot traffic – kung naay daghang activities, naay daghang sige ug anha anang balaya or ana nga structure, unya 24 hours a day. Walay pili ba, wala mo kaila, unya medyo lahi na ang actuation,” Alcantara said.
“Pwede ninyo tan-awon ang surrounding kung naay daghang mga foil nga gipanglabay ba sa kilid, mga drug paraphernalia. Those are indicators nga gihimo ng drug den ang balay,” she further explained.
Alcantara encouraged everyone who notices suspicious activities like these in their neighborhood to report them to the authorities. She assured that their identities would be kept confidential by the authorities.
“Kung naay mga kahigsuunan nato nga nagduda nga nagpadagan ug drug den ilang silingan, pwede gyud nila ireport sa barangay or sa police or sa PDEA. Dili gyud sila angay mahadlok kay dili mana idisclose sa PDEA,” Alcantara affirmed.
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