PHILIPPINE National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) director, Brigadier General Remus B. Medina on Tuesday said they have been assured by their counterparts from the Chinese government of better coordination and cooperation in their crackdown on illegal drugs in The Philippines and Mainland China.

To do this, the PNP-DEG and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency under Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva are further strengthening their cooperation with China to address the existence of Chinese descendants and visitors in the country who have turned into big-time drug personalities.

In a virtual conference, Brig. Gen. Medina said their talk with officials from the National Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security (NCBMPS) of People’s Republic of China also opened doors for more training cooperation and mutual assistance between law enforcement agencies of the two countries.

They include trainings on counter-terrorism, anti-drug operations, personal online training and policing material aids.

Full coordination between the two countries is necessary in the wake of a series of major ‘intelligence-driven’ operations conducted by the PDEA, the PNP and other Law Enforcement Agencies last month which led in the killing of four armed Chinese drug smugglers and two of their Filipino distributors and the arrest of five others, three of them Chinese nationals too last month.

PNP chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar cited the ‘whole-of-government approach’ as key factors in the series of successful anti-narcotics operations in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan and Cavite which he said will have a ‘very big impact’ on the illegal drug distribution system in the country.

Last month, major intelligence-driven’ operations jointly conducted by agents of the PDEA and the PNP in Bacoor City in Cavite led in the neutralization of four ‘high-value targets’ in the country and the seizure of around 229 kilograms of shabu worth nearly P1.6 billion.

Recovered during the first operation were 181 kilograms of the so-called ‘poor man’s cocaine’ worth P1.25 billion, the buy-bust money and firearms used by the suspects in trading shots with officers.

A follow-up operation in Imus City, Cavite led in the arrest of two other suspects and the confiscation of 48 kilograms of shabu worth P331.2 million.

Four of the Chinese nationals were killed in a shootout with members of the PNP-DEG while three were arrested. Confiscated from the suspects were a total of 580 kilograms of shabu worth P3.944 billion.

Records from the PDEA also showed that over P65 billion worth of prohibited drugs, nearly 9.525 tons of them shabu have been seized by the government since July 2016. PNP and PDEA agents have also arrested 13,244 so-called ‘high-value targets’ during the period, 322 of them foreign nationals, majority of them from China.

Last October 1, combined operatives of the PDEA and the PNP seized 149 kilograms of shabu worth P1.28 billion during a buy-bust operation in Bacoor City in Cavite. Three suspects were arrested during the sting.

Brig. Gen. Medina said that he was joined by PDEA Deputy Chief for Intelligence and Investigation Service, Director Laura Nebato in discussing the PNP-PDEA plans with their counterparts from China led by Yan Weigang, the director of the Drug-Related Crime Investigation Department of the NCBMPS, Shan Yehua, the director of the agency’s International Department, Sui Yan, an officer of the DRCID, Cheng Feng, another officer of the Intelligence Department and Chao Chen, the China police attache in Manila who also signified his intention to fully support the PNP’s drug demand reduction strategies.

“The initiative by the PDEG and Chinese authorities wish to follow a multi- agency law enforcement framework such as the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol. We are hoping to work against a broad scope of criminal activities including the illegal drug trade run by Chinese personalities,” Medina said.

“Law enforcement strategies and tactics must evolve in tandem with criminal methods. And, as with global trade, nations must work together to combat common threats especially on illegal drugs” the PNP-DEG director added.