NEARLY 11.8 tons of shabu worth P76.17 billion have been seized by Duterte government agents led by those from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) from July 1, 2016 to last March 31, the latest RealNumbersPH record said on Sunday.

Records showed that authorities conducted 233,356 anti-illegal drug operations during the period, which led to the arrest of 336,796 suspects.

A total of 6,241 armed suspects also died during those anti-drug operations, most of them in shootouts with undercover officers.

During the period, a total of P88.83 billion worth of shabu, its chemical precursors and other essential elements and laboratory equipment as well as cocaine, Ecstasy and marijuana leaves were confiscated, the majority of them destroyed already.

PDEA Chair Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva said that apart from the huge volume of shabu, otherwise known as the “poor man’s cocaine”, also hauled by the government during the period were 530.24 kilos of cocaine; 163,295 pieces of ecstasy tablets and pills and over 10 tons of cannabis plants, seedling, and bricks.

The PDEA chief said that the government authorities also dismantled a total of 1,111 secret drug dens and 19 clandestine shabu laboratories during the period.

He added that 14,888 “high-value targets” were also arrested during the past five years and nine months.

They include 360 foreign nationals, 400 elected officials, 126 uniformed personnel, 527 government employees, 4,030 “target-listed personalities”, 797 drug group leaders/members, 78 armed group members, 1,619 drug den maintainers, 295 wanted-listed personalities, and 24 celebrities/Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) license-holders

Also arrested as a result of “high-impact operations” during the period were 6,632 suspects.

Overall, Villanueva said that 1,053 government workers were arrested for their involvement in illegal drug activities since 2016.

So far, the government has already destroyed 8,176.81 kilograms of confiscated shabu, nearly 4.226 tons of marijuana, 21.93 kilograms of ecstasy, 534.20 kilos of cocaine, and 3.483 kilograms of other prohibited drugs, the official said.

The government’s war on drugs since 2016 also led to the rescue of 4,307 children involved in illegal drug activities, Villanueva said.

They include 987 minors who were found in possession of dangerous drugs, 2,532 for drug pushing activities, two for acting as “runners” of syndicates, 522 for drug use, one for acting as an employee of a raided drug den, three for involvement in marijuana cultivation, 234 for visiting a drug den, nine from being drug den maintainers, and 17 for acting as drug dive employees.

Since 2016, the government has also declared 24,766 barangays as already “drug-cleared” with 10,704 yet to be cleared based on parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the PDEA.

Another 6,575 barangays have been considered as “drug unaffected/drug-free.”

The PDEA and the PNP have further boosted their partnership in conducting a “less bloody drug war” amid the many challenges confronting them.