POLICE filed criminal charges for possession and transport of prohibited drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against Michael Zarate, 47, the man driving a van loaded with P9.7 billion worth of shabu in Alitagtag, Batangas last Monday.

This as the Police Regional Office (PRO) 4-A headed by Brigadier General Paul Kenneth T. Lucas said that at the end of the drug inventory, the shabu recovered in Brgy. Pinagkrusan in Alitagtag weighed a total of 1,424.253 kilograms with an estimated value of P9,684,920,400.

Initial estimates placed the drug hoard at around 2,000 kilos and valued at nearly P13.3 billion.

If convicted, the man can be jailed for life and fined up to P10 million upon conviction by the court.

A less stiffer complaint, for violation of Section 31 of RA 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code Rules, was also filed against the accused before the Office of the Batangas Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

Section 31 of RA 4136 refers to the ‘illegal use of licenses, number plates, etc.’

According to reports, Zarate, of Project 4, Quezon City was stopped by members of the Alitagtag Municipal Police Station led by Captain Luis De Luna Jr. around 8:00 a.m. last Monday.

The intelligence-driven checkpoint operation led to the arrest of the suspect and the recovery of the huge volume of shabu.

Philippine National Police chief General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil reaffirmed the PNP’s commitment to achieve a 100 percent drug-free community in the country following the major drug haul.

Reports said the police became suspicious when the driver turned uneasy when an officer asked him to show his driver’s license.

The shabu was covered by a blue woven sack.

The police are also tracking down the occupants of four motor vehicles who were last seen leaving a yacht club in Batangas prior to the interception of the nearly two tons of shabu.

“There is still no clear indication if a yacht was used to smuggle the huge volume of drugs. But what is clear is that the suspects are probably set to transport them to Metro Manila from Batangas,” said one of the sources who spoke to the Journal Group on condition of anonymity.