PNP seeks court OK for ‘immediate’ destruction of P1B worth of seized shabu

PHOTO from PDEA

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it will be seeking court approval for the immediate destruction of more than P1 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) seized in two separate busts in Cavite and Parañaque City on June 13.

“We will be coordinating with the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) in convincing the courts that will handle the cases that we filed in connection with these two operations to destroy these confiscated illegal drugs in the soonest possible time,” said PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar in a statement.

“Ito naman ay naayon sa kautusan ng ating Pangulo na dapat ay sirain na kaagad ang mga nakukumpiskang ililgal na droga sa loob ng isang linggo after the operation. At dapat lang namang gawin ito upang maalis na ang mga pagdudada tungkol sa nakukumpiskang iligal na droga,” he added.

(This is in line with our President’s order that the confiscated illegal drugs must be destroyed immediately within a week after the operation. And this should be done to remove doubts on the confiscated illegal drugs.)

Eleazar said the PNP will take advantage of a previous circular issued by the Supreme Court in July 2020 where it directed the lower court to “strictly comply” with Section 21 of Republic Act (RA) 9165 which mandates courts to make destruction orders for seized drugs weighing 5 kilograms or more a top priority.

RA 9165, or the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,” states that “after the filing of the criminal case, the court shall, within 72 hours, conduct an ocular inspection” of the seized illegal drugs and through the PDEA shall “within 24 hours thereafter proceed with the destruction or burning of the same, provided, that a representative sample, duly weighed and recorded is retained.”

Eleazar, however, claims that since the law was passed, the provisions of the legislation have not been fully implemented, adding that it typically takes months, if not years, for illegal substances to be destroyed — leading to speculations of drug recycling in the past.

This came after joint buy-bust operations by the PNP and the PDEA last Sunday, June 13, resulted in the confiscation of 155 kilograms of shabu worth P1.054 billion and the arrest of two Chinese nationals, Zhuzun Chen and Man Kuok Wong.

Chen was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Baclaran, Parañaque City while Wong was nabbed along the Aguinaldo Highway in Imus, Cavite. Aside from the large volume of illegal drugs which were placed inside tea packages, cellular phones and vehicles were seized from the two suspects.

The 155 kilograms of shabu seized from the bust are currently under the custody of the PDEA and the PNP-Crime Laboratory.

/MUF