Seized drugs hit P3.7B in 6 months

The Philippine National Police seized over P3.7 billion worth of illegal drugs during the first six months of its campaign against illegal drugs last year, with Metro Manila and Central Luzon accounting for most of the “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and marijuana seized.

PNP public information office chief Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said this was based on statistics from the PNP National Anti-Illegal Drug Monitoring Center (NAIDMC) from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 12, 2017.

According to the center, antidrug operations in the PNP’s 18 regional offices recovered about 95,000 sachets of shabu, of which 8,581 came from the National Capital Region Police Office.

On the other hand, Police Regional Office 3 (Central Luzon) recovered the most marijuana sachets—111,350 sachets—out of more or less 113,000 sachets of marijuana seized nationwide.

The figures gathered by the NAIDMC excludes the illegal drugs seized by the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group which have separate reports through their relentless operations against illegal drugs, Carlos said

“This is the result of the unremitting dedication and support of the PNP to the flagship program of President Duterte embedded in [our] the nationwide anti-illegal drugs campaign, ‘Oplan Double Barrel,’” Carlos added.

He said the PNP was continuing its campaign against illegal drugs and drug personalities but with more focus on the arrest of high-value target personalities involved and progressing towards the barangay drug-clearing strategy of the government.