Cops nab fewer druggies but kill 85 in C. Luzon

CAMP OLIVAS, PAMPANGA—The number of arrested drug users and pushers in Central Luzon has gone down to a fourth of that during the first wave of the police’s antidrug campaign “Double Barrel” from 2016 to 2017.

The second campaign, named “Double Barrel Reloaded,” nabbed 741 users and 1,828 pushers, or a total of 2,569 from Sept. 1, 2017, to Jan. 16, 2018, according to the regional police headquarters here.

The first campaign arrested 10,550 users and pushers in 6,993 operations undertaken from July 1, 2016, to July 4, 2017.

But Double Barrel Reloaded was not any less bloody: 85 suspects had been killed in police operations. The latest was Edwin Espinosa, who was killed in a supposed shootout with police at Bocaue town in Bulacan province.

On Jan. 6 and 7, police arrested 21 suspects in drug busts in several areas in Luzon.

Like in the first campaign, Bulacan and Pampanga topped the list of provinces with the most number of arrested suspects in Double Barrel Reloaded.

The Bulacan police nabbed 236 users and 460 pushers, while the Pampanga police arrested 107 users and 282 pushers.

Among those reported arrested was a village chief in Tarlac City.

No drug users were arrested in Aurora province since Sept. 1 last year.

Of 1,493 drug dependents who surrendered in September last year, 294 came from Bulacan, 155 in Bataan, 136 in Pampanga and 105 in Nueva Ecija. —TONETTE OREJAS