CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) is probing whether a portion of the P13 billion Batangas shabu was on its way to Region 7.
On Monday, April 15, authorities manning a checkpoint flagged down a Foton van along the highway in Barangay Pinagkurusan at around 9 a.m.
When they asked the driver, identified as Alajon Michael Zarate, to present his license, he reportedly failed to do so and appeared “uneasy and uncomfortable.”
Upon inspection, officers discovered several sacks and plastic containers containing shabu estimated to be weighing two tons and worth around P13 billion at the back of the vehicle.
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PRO-7 spokesperson, Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, told reporters that this was the biggest amount of drugs confiscated by police in the country so far.
Pelare said they are yet to receive information if any of the seized Batangas shabu were intended for Central Visayas.
However, they do not discount this possibility especially because the region is known to be a transshipment port for illegal drugs that will be distributed to the different parts of the country.
“Wala tay information mahitingod ana. Although we do not discount that possibility tungod sa gidaghanon ato. Pero wala tay information nga magconclude nga naay part ato nga ibutang or paingon sa Central Visayas,” stated Pelare.
“Naa pa may ongoing nga custodial debriefing. What we usually do after the custodial debriefing with the suspect, we will share information to our Intelligence officers. So pending that, we do not have any information nga naa ba toy paingon diri. Maghuwat lang ta sa confirmation nga atong madawat gikan sa unit nga nag-arrest,” he added.
READ: P3.8M shabu seized, 2 HVIs nabbed in Cebu City drug busts
Pelare further expressed their gratefulness to the officers who led the confiscation as more lives could have been ruined if the Batangas shabu reached the streets.
“We don’t know the extent of distribution but kung wala to siya ma-confiscate, then daghan na pong kinabuhi ang mausik ug kaugmaon maguba kung moabot to sa dan, sa mga komunidad nato,” he said.
Pelare also relayed that their campaign against illegal drugs remains to be aggressive based on the instructions of the regional director, Police Brigadier General Anthony Aberin.
“We are on the right track against illegal drugs. And we just want to continuously appeal to the community to give in information about these illegal drug traffickers,” he added.