PDEA destroys P563-M worth of illegal drugs

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO 

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Thursday destroyed P563-million worth of illegal drugs at a waste treatment facility in Malabon City.

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said the destroyed narcotics include 112,078.28 grams of shabu worth P560 million, 375.59 grams of ecstasy worth P2.2 million, and 181.77 grams of cocaine worth P763,434.

Also incinerated were 340.64 grams of marijuana worth P35,064, 0.38 gram of ephedrine worth P15.20, 1,536.60 grams of nitrazepam, and 5,000 grams of expired medicines, Aquino said.

The illegal drugs were destroyed through thermal decomposition, Aquino said.

“The destruction of seized illegal drugs is in accordance with the provisions of the law and will eliminate any misconception that these items are being recycled and peddled back into the streets,” Aquino said in a statement.

Aquino said this was the third batch of seized narcotics to be destroyed through thermal decomposition since he took office on September 12, 2017.

The first one was on October 12, 2017, where P10.6 million worth of dangerous drugs and laboratory equipment was destroyed, while the second one was on November 10, 2017, where a total of P6-billion worth of dangerous drugs was decomposed, the PDEA chief said.

Prior to the ceremonial destruction of the illegal substance, Aquino lauded the various trial courts for expediting prosecution and disposition of drug cases.

Aquino said these led to the prompt destruction of these illegal drugs that are no longer needed to be shown in courts as pieces of evidence.

Key officials of PDEA and other law enforcement agencies, representatives from the Department of Justice, the Dangerous Drugs Board , the Public Attorney’s Office, non-government organizations and media witnessed the destruction. /jpv