MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has seized over P13 billion worth of illegal drugs in the last six months, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on Monday.
Abalos reported that the PNP conducted 23,515 operations, seizing illegal drugs from January to June this year.
“In the first half of the year, the Philippine National Police conducted 23,515 operations that resulted in 28,804 arrests and the confiscation of P13,677,000 worth of illegal drugs,” he said in Filipino in a press briefing.
An estimated P52 million worth of narcotics, including crystal meth (shabu), dried marijuana, and marijuana plants, were seized from June 17 to 21. The 111 operations within the same week resulted in the arrest of 123 individuals, he added.
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Last May 7, PNP chief General Rommel Marbil raised the need to double the police force’s efforts to combat illegal drugs, adding that the government is aiming for a 100 percent drug-free community.