To prove its seriousness in curbing illegal drug activities in the city, the Taguig local government reported that more than 100 suspected drug traffickers have already been arrested in the city just for the first half of the year as it has been strengthening its campaign, especially against the operation of drug peddling syndicates.
In a statement released Sunday, the city government announced that a total of 114 suspected drug users and peddlers have been apprehended “including the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th most wanted” in the city.
On Friday last week, the “4th most wanted illegal drug personality,” Richard Silvestre, was arrested during a police operation, which recovered 40 grams of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) estimated to cost P200,000.
The local government said that the number of arrests related to illegal drugs increased by 70 percent this year compared to 2014 in the same period, during which 68 were arrested.
According to the Taguig City police chief, Senior Supt. Arthur Felix Asis, a total of 213.997 grams of shabu and 37.804 grams of marijuana have been confiscated during the first six months of the year.
“This is a victory worth mentioning because as we put more pushers behind bars, we take off more illegal drugs from our streets and consequently out of the reach of our citizens, especially our children,” Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano said in a statement.
She added that under her leadership “illegal drugs have no place in our community.”
“We all know what illegal drugs do to lives of our people and to the communities they live in. Let us help each other in dealing a final blow to the drug menace,” the mayor said.
Cayetano highlighted that one of her initiatives in the city since she was elected to office in 2010 was the war against illegal drugs since the Taguig was previously tagged as a “hotspot” for these illegal activities.
Suspected members of drug syndicates who were arrested during Cayetano’s leadership included Mardie Talampas, Jackie Abone, Rawie Castro, Bernardo Eslao, Aileen Magpantay, Alexander Manalo, Nyljohn Peralta and members of the notorious Tinga drug syndicate.