Drugs made aboard sea, land vessels?

Drug syndicates operating in the country have reportedly turned mobile in manufacturing illegal drugs to avoid detection.

A ranking official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) disclosed that big-time drug rings have started manufacturing shabu inside ships and moving trailer trucks.

"We have been receiving reports that local and foreign drug syndicates have turned to using closed-container vans and yachts to manufacture shabu," the PDEA official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this method makes it even more difficult for law enforcement agencies and the public to trace the source of the illegal drugs despite major arrests and increased number of raids on shabu labs.

In the past, illegal drug laboratories could be easily noticed by residents because of the foul smell emanating from sources such as warehouses and apartments.

"They have relocated their shabu manufacturing operations from warehouses to mobile closed vans and ships. That’s how innovative these drug syndicates have become," the PDEA official said.

"Kaya kahit marami na tayong nabuwag ng laboratoryo. may shabu pa rin sa market (This explains the abundance of the drugs in the market despite the major arrests and seizure of many laboratories)," he said.

The PDEA official admitted it would be difficult for them to make arrests since their targets have become mobile.

He pointed out the lack of proper logistics necessary to effect such arrests.

If the drugs are being manufactured in a sea vessel, it would be easy for the illegal drug manufacturers to evade arrest by simply jettisoning their illegal cargo.

PDEA spokesman Superintendent Bernardo Bondoc, on the other hand, stressed the reports of drug syndicates turning mobile are still being verified.

"We have been receiving reports about this new modus operandi but we are still validating it," Bondoc said.

Meanwhile, police bomb experts successfully disarmed an improvised explosive at the PDEA regional official in Baguio City yesterday morning.

According to PDEA civilian employee Narciso Alcaide, he first discovered the improvised explosive near the entrance of the PDEA office along Harrison Road.

Bomb police experts said the explosive was 10 inches long, two and a half inches in diameter with electric blasting cap and timer attached to a nine-volt battery placed inside a cigarette box.

Alcaide claimed he was about to enter the PDEA office when he noticed the cigarette box nearby.

He said the contents inside the box made him suspicious and prompted him to call for police assistance.

The Baguio City police are still investigating the motive behind the foiled bombing.