DDB: Seizure of P2.6 billion shabu created ‘vacuum’

MANILA, Philippines —  The seizure of at least  P2.6 billion worth of shabu in separate anti-illegal drug operations in the past two days will significantly reduce the supply of illegal drugs in Metro Manila, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said yesterday.

Anti-narcotics officers confiscated about 388 kilos of shabu in separate stings in Makati and Las Pinas, which authorities said is the largest drug haul so far this year.

“Itong almost 400 kilos na ito nawala ito sa market so magkakaroon ng vacuum somewhere on the supply (chain),” DDB chairman Secretary Catalino Cuy said in press briefing at Camp Crame.

Police officers confiscated the drugs after two weeks of surveillance on Liu Chao, a Chinese citizen, who was arrested in Makati. Two of Chao’s drug couriers were apprehended in a followup operation in Las Piñas.

Survey of drug users

Cuy said they are still conducting a study to determine the latest number of drug users and extent of drug prevalence in the country.

The DDB, in a survey in 2015, said at least 1.8 million Filipinos are hooked on drugs but with the surrender of about 1.3 million users since President Duterte took office in July 2016, Cuy said the figure is no longer accurate.

“I can’t answer if we have an oversupply or undersupply,” he said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa was tight-lipped about the new information they have obtained so far in their investigation. He explained it could jeopardize the followup operations they are doing to apprehend other personalities who might be involved in smuggling the drugs into the country.

What is certain, according to Gamboa, is that the drugs “came from outside of the Philippines but as of yet, we cannot divulge where because we are trying to thresh out details on this for subsequent followup operations.”

Gamboa also refused to disclose how much shabu has been smuggled into the country.

Aside from Metro Manila, officials said the drugs were intended for distribution in other parts of the country such as Central Visayas, where there have been similar confiscations in the past.

Push for death penalty

Despite the government’s efforts, the illegal drug trade remains a lucrative business for drug syndicates in the country. The main reason, according to officials, is the absence of capital punishment for drug traffickers.

PNP Drug Enforcement Group acting director Col. Romeo Caramat Jr. said if are about three million drug users in the country, the minimum demand is about 3,000 kilos or three tons of narcotics a week with an estimated street value of P25 billion.

“The drug syndicates will not easily give up this kind of business because it’s a big industry,” Caramat said.

It is for this reason why Cuy and other officials are pushing for the reimposition of the death penalty for drug trafficking.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency deputy director general for operations Gregorio Pimentel echoed Cuy’s statement, noting that drug traffickers continue to ply their trade even if they are already convicted and serving their sentence.

“Everybody ends up in the New Bilibid Prison so what happened? They enhance their organized network to traffic illegal drugs,” he said.