NBI: Syndicates discover way to evade drug laws

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday said that illegal drug syndicates have found a way to circumvent Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act.

At a press conference Tuesday, the NBI said there are illegal drugs that contain synthetic substance that is not listed as prohibited drug.

NBI’s Forensic Investigation Service chief of staff Rommel Papa said tests done on the drugs confiscated from a drug pusher over the weekend showed that the illegal drugs contained ingredients “not fit for human consumption.”

The pink pills containing Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or ecstasy also have methaline homolob, a crystalline substance commonly used in forensic work to identify dangerous drugs.

“The NBI was able to seize illicit drugs with synthetic chemicals which are dangerous and can kill,” said Papa.

However, the NBI refused to speculate if similar drugs were sold at a recent rave party, the Closeup Forever Summer 2016, in Pasay City where five people died.

Papa said the NBI has several “theories” as to why illegal drug manufacturers mix in synthetic chemicals. He said these substances could either be used as an “extender” or to give the pills a “stronger effect.”

Joel Tovera, chief of the NBI anti-illegal drug unit, said under the Dangerous Drugs Act, the synthetic substances are not listed as prohibited drugs so anyone caught with them cannot be prosecuted.

“These syndicates are very much clever to circumvent the law para kapag nahuli mo at ito ang content, hindi sila mapo-prosecute later on,” he said.