Drug raids yield 112 drums of chemicals

A total of 112 drums of chemicals used in the manufacture of dangerous drugs have been seized by elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in successive raids in Metro Manila.

In a report reaching the office of Dangerous Drugs Board executive director Undersecretary Jose Calida, the chemicals were first recovered from a warehouse of A. Grace Enterprises located at 9 Mars street in Barangay Parada, Malinta during a raid at 9 a.m. yesterday.

The PDEA said firm’s owner, Alex Tam, a 45-year-old Filipino-Chinese, was also arrested by lawmen during the raid conducted on the strength of the search warrant issued by a Manila judge.

The drums consisted of 37 drums of methyl ethyl ketone, 25 drums of toluene, and 20 drums of acetone. The chemicals are all essential ingredients in the manufacture of dangerous drugs, PDEA director Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido said.

Avenido said the Valenzuela raid came a day after a joint PDEA-NBI operation last Tuesday in Caloocan and Marikina cities that resulted to the confiscation of thousands of liters of methyl ethyl ketone, toluene and acetone.

The operations were conducted after authorities found out that the firms, including the R and D warehouse in Caloocan and FG Trading in Marikina, were selling controlled chemicals to unauthorized individuals.

Avenido said the three firms also failed to get the necessary licenses and permits from the PDEA Compliance Service.

The PDEA also appealed to all companies engaged in the buying and selling of controlled precursors and essential chemicals to get their licenses to legitimize their operations. – Christina Mendez, Jerry Botial, Pete Laude