28 killed, 394 suspected drug pushers nabbed in Quezon since March – PNP

LUCENA CITY –– At least 28 suspected drug pushers were killed and 394 were arrested in the intensified anti-drug operations by policemen in Quezon province since March.

Colonel Ramil Montilla, Quezon police director, said anti-illegal drugs operatives also seized about 1,221 grams of shabu (crystal meth) worth more than P2.2 million and about 1,088 grams of marijuana amounting to P59,862.

He said combined efforts of the authorities with the active support of concerned citizens have resulted in the recovery of 9,027 grams of cocaine worth P56.4 million in the street market during the same period.

Police said most of those who died in drug-related killings resisted arrest and engaged policemen in shootouts.

Cocaine

On Sunday, police recovered seven kilos of cocaine bricks along the coast of Mauban town facing the Pacific Ocean.

Montilla said they have been monitoring coastal residents and fishermen for the possible recovery of more cocaine bricks from their possession.

He advised the public not to entertain the thought of keeping the recovered illegal drugs in exchange for huge sums.

“It is not worth it. Sooner, the police will catch you. Just surrender the illegal drugs at once to the nearest police station,” Montilla said.

He said the police would coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to provide more incentives to whoever would surrender illegal drugs to the authorities.

It was not the first time that cocaine washed up on the province’s shores.

Last February, a 15-year-old boy found a brick of cocaine weighing more than a kilogram also in Mauban.

In April last year, fishers from the island town of Perez, also in Lamon Bay in the Pacific Ocean, found a total of 28 kilos of cocaine, worth P280 million, and 16.5 liters of liquid chemical that could make about 13 kilos of crystal meth worth P130 million.

Another group of Quezon fishers also recovered in the area a “sophisticated, high-tech” tracking device used in monitoring drug shipments. (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)