PNP, PDEA going after high value drug targets
AMID their huge success in accounting for some P30.39 billion worth of shabu and other illegal drugs from July 1, 2022 to December 31 last year, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has aired its commitment to team up with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in going after more high-value targets (HVTs) this year thru intelligence-driven operations.
Records showed that the PNP played a major role in the Marcos administration’s successful campaign against illegal drugs by sending 56,495 targets to jail and accounting for more than P10.412 billion worth of shabu and other illegal substances in 2023.
The proactive measures launched by the PNP this year contributed to the reduced crime volume, said PNP spokesman, Colonel Jean S. Fajardo.
To reduce the supply of illegal drugs, the PDEA, with the help of the PDEA and other law enforcement agencies, intensified its efforts against top-level drug personalities.
As a result of its intensified conduct of intelligence-driven operations, the agency and other law enforcement units led by the PNP conducted a total of 1,329 ‘high-impact operations’ to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs across the country from July 1, 2022 to last December 31.
Those operations resulted in the dismantling of 811 secret drug dives and a clandestine shabu laboratory, 362 ‘high-volume seizures’ and 135 marijuana eradication drives.
During the same period, the PDEA, with the help of other law enforcement agencies arrested a total of 4,937 ‘high-value targets’ to disrupt the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.
Of the 4,937 ‘HVTs,’ 60 are elected officials; 34 are uniformed personnel; 255 are government employees; 94 are foreign nationals; 40 are drug group leaders/members; 8 are armed group leaders/members; 403 are ‘target-listed personalities;’ 15 are ‘wanted-listed personalities;’ and 2 are celebrities/prominent people.
Others include 828 drug den maintainers; 1 is a warehouse worker in a clandestine laboratory; 5 are resurgent drug personalities; 2,851 arrested as a result of ‘high-impact operation’’ and 341 are other ‘high-value targets.’
Officials earlier said that ‘intelligence operations’ launched by Marcos government agents from July 1, 2022 to date have already resulted in the seizure of more than P30 billion worth of shabu and other illegal drugs.
The latest of these operations took place on October 6, 2023 which led to the discovery of P2.1 billion worth of shabu inside the Manila International Container Port in Tondo, Manila.
The operation was jointly conducted by operatives of the PNP, the PDEA, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Bureau of Customs.
PNP Drug Enforcement Group director Colonel Dionisio B. Bartolome Jr. said that intelligence agents of the PNP Calabarzon passed information which triggered joint efforts to exploit the information given in coordination with the PDEA.
Col. Bartolome said that an initial inspection yielded shabu packets, each containing approximately P1.4 kilo of shabu per pack in the beef jerky packages from among the 450 boxes inspected.
A total of 70 boxes contained varying volumes of shabu, the inspection showed. A total of 1, 109 packs of shabu were found with an aggregate weight of 323.184 kg with standard drug price valuation of P2.1 billion.
