CPDRC raid still yields drugs, money, weapons

Contraband confiscated during a raid at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) are inventoried by members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-7).
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

THREE small sachets of suspected shabu, P44,837 in cash in different denominations, 43 cellular phones, several empty sachets of suspected shabu, drug paraphernalia, improvised deadly weapons and a four-page document believed to be transaction records made by inmates were seized from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) yesterday morning.

Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-7) and the Provincial Public Safety Company of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO-PPSC) raided all the cells inside the provincial jail.

The 3,541 inmates were brought to the facility’s quadrangle while their cells were searched.

This is the second greyhound operation this month at the CPDRC, the first one was last October 5.

PDEA-7 officer Earl Rallos said that although yesterday’s raid yielded a smaller quantity of contraband compared to the recent one, they are now investigating the possibility that some inmates still have connections with people outside the facility and continue to do illegal transactions.

During the October 5 greyhound operation, authorities recovered P71,890 worth of shabu, money believed to be proceeds of illegal transactions amounting to P2,450, at least 37 electronic gadgets, and five tablets of Vallum, a prescription drug used to treat anxiety but is often abused.

Rallos added that the four-page document they recovered from one of the cells contained a list of names of inmates, tracking and cell phone numbers, and numbers indicating money which they suspected to be transactions from illegal drug operations.

“We’re now investigating the matter now because we summed up the money indicated on the list, and it was around P2 million. We will not reveal any information from the document while investigation is going on,” said Rallos.

Meanwhile, CPDRC deputy warden Audesti Miguel said they will not suspend the inmates’ visiting privileges for now.

But visiting privileges of the 60 inmates detained at the two cells wherein sachets of shabu were found last October 5 remain suspended, pending results of the investigations.

“For now, we will not be suspending the visiting rights because the CPDRC Task Force will still present the inventory before Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III. After that, then we can only come up with suggestions for appropriate actions,” explained Miguel.

Meanwhile, CPDRC Task Force member Roberto Legaspi said there are currently two signal jammers within the jail facility, but he said these were low-powered ones and cannot cover the entire 1.4-hectare area of the facility.

He said they plan to request for upgrades and additional signal jamming devices.

“These are low-powered jamming devices, so it does not cover the entire area. We suspected that inmates who are carrying smuggled cell phones go to areas not covered by signal jammers to continue transacting via texts,” he explained.