70 sachets of shabu seized in surprise raid of Metro jail

Surprise Galugad raid at the Bicutan BJMP on Dec. 12, 2016. INQUIRER/Marianne Bermudez

MANILA — Acting on reports of illegal drug transactions inside a jail in Camp Bagong Diwa, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Monday conducted a surprise search that yielded 70 sachets of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), among other contrabands.

Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, NCRPO acting regional director, said the police and jail operatives also recovered records containing Chinese characters and what seemed to be bank account details during the Oplan Galugad at the Metro Manila District Jail inside the police camp in Taguig City.

Together with the Bureau of Immigration, the NCRPO and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology also searched the immigration jail where they found casino chips, about 50 cell phones and several laptop computers, Albayalde said.

“We received reports that there are (drug) transactions being conducted, particularly in the cell of Chinese inmates. We were able to recover a list although we could not decipher it yet, but it contains figures and there are cell phones with Chinese characters so would have these verified,” Albayalde said in a media interview.

The search also yielded an undetermined amount of cash, drug paraphernalia, bladed weapons, televisions and game boards.

The NCRPO official said it seemed that the setup was similar to that in the New Bilibid Prisons where deals were conducted inside the jail while the transactions were completed outside.

“We conducted an Oplan Galugad to prevent these transactions from proliferating. It’s embarrassing because this is a PNP camp,” Albayalde said.  SFM