PNP nets nearly 9K drug suspects, P5.8B illegal drugs seized since July
INTENSIFIED anti-narcotics operations by the Philippine National Police (PNP) from July 1 to last Sunday have already led to the arrest of 8,934 suspects, many of them “high-value targets”, and the seizure of nearly P5.8 billion worth of shabu and marijuana, PNP Chief General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. on Monday said.
The top cop said that the accomplishments were made mainly thru the efforts of the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG), now headed by Brig. Gen. Narciso D. Domingo.
According to the PNP chief, from July 1 to August 20 this year, the PNP spearheaded by the PDEG gained significant headway in the campaign against illegal drugs with the arrest of the 8,934 suspects tagged as “high-profile players” in the drug trade.
Those operations likewise resulted in the confiscation of 805.63 kilograms of shabu and 83.33 kilos of marijuana and the destruction of 34 clandestine marijuana farms where millions of fully-grown cannabis plants and seedlings were uprooted and destroyed.
Azurin said that seized drugs and destroyed marijuana crops were valued at P5.8 billion.
“It should be worthy to note that the objective of law enforcement to effect the arrest of the offender has been satisfied in these operations with only barest minimum application of reasonable and necessary force, and consistent with requirements of transparency thru digital recording, presence of witnesses and proper authority of operating units,” the PNP chief said.
According to Azurin, “these significant results of operations more or less describe the aggressiveness of the PNP’s intelligence-driven supply reduction strategy in support of the overall anti-illegal drug campaign, with a strong emphasis [on] non-violent methods of effecting arrest while ensuring [the] protection of operating teams when engaged in [a] violent confrontation with armed suspects through proper equipment and training.”
He likewise pointed out that the mitigation of the country’s drug problem was specifically mentioned by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R . Marcos Jr. to visiting United States Senator Edward Markey last Friday as among the areas of partnership with the US that the Philippines is looking forward to, along with renewable energy use, agricultural development, and economic reform.
Azurin also said they are set to enhance all the good anti-drug programs of the previous administration. “We should refrain from changing them, we just enhance them,” he said.
