Vinzons town is in the northern part of Camarines Norte. (Image from Google Maps)
LEGAZPI CITY – Police confirmed on Tuesday that the package retrieved by fishermen off the coast of Vinzons town in Camarines Norte late Monday afternoon contained P4.5 million worth of cocaine.
Chief Insp. Maria Luisa Calubaquib, a spokesperson of the Bicol Police Regional Office, said the package found in Barangay Sabang contained about 839 grams of cocaine.
READ: 2nd box of suspected cocaine found in Camarines Norte waters
SPO4 Nelson Gesuden, Vinzons municipal executive senior police officer, said that earlier on Monday, fisherman Jerry Aceron fished the package, which was covered with plastic and rubber tape, off the coast of Barangay Aguit-it.
Aceron gave it to another Sabang resident, Agustin Mendoza, who threw it back to the sea thinking that “it was a poisonous substance due to its foul odor.”
Police then conducted a search after receiving the report and found the box already soaking wet.
This was the second package retrieved by fishermen.
Last Sunday, fishermen also found a kilo of cocaine worth P5.4 million near Quinamanucan Island in Barangay Sula of the same town. /atm
READ: P5.4-M cocaine fished out of Camarines Norte waters