PDEA on heightened alert for All Saints’ Day

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency will be on heightened alert starting Saturday and throughout the long weekend to ensure that drug groups and personalities will not take advantage of the occasion to transport illegal drugs from one place to another, PDEA Director General Undersecretary Jose Gutierrez Jr. said Friday.

Gutierrez Jr. said the anti-drug agency wouldn’t take for granted the possibility that drug peddlers would take advantage of people traveling in and out of the city to honor their departed loved ones.

With this, Gutierrez said that he instructed PDEA regional directors “to coordinate with local law enforcement units to intensify operations in airports, seaports, major transport terminals, tourist or recreational spots and even in cemeteries.”

PDEA K9 units will also be deployed to strategic locations to heighten the security against illegal drug trade, the director said.

He also added that a 24-hour action team would be formed to act on reports and complaints related to illegal drug activities.