THE Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) leadership yesterday maintained they have been going after the so-called ‘big fishes’ in the illegal drug industry as proven by the seizure of over P66 billion worth of prohibited drugs since the Duterte government launched its war on drugs on July 1, 2016.

The confiscation of the illegal drugs that could have really flooded the streets is likewise proof that illegal drugs present a ‘clear and present danger’ to the survival of the country where authorities need to be prepared to respond to armed and dangerous drug traffickers, lest they end up dead just like the dozens of policemen and soldiers who have sacrificed their lives while fighting drug syndicates over the past five years.

PNP chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said it is a fact that over the past few months, ‘intelligence-driven operations conducted by the PDEA headed by Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva and the PNP specifically the PNP Drug Enforcement Group have resulted in the seizure of multibillion-peso worth of shabu and the neutralization of dozens of ‘high-value targets.’

Gen. Eleazar maintained that the PDEA-PNP operations against illegal drugs has been a major factor in reducing to at least 64 percent the crime volume in the country, thus making the streets much safer for peace-loving citizens.

Last October 18 alone, a PDEA-led operation in Bgy. Pulong Cacutud, Angeles City, Pampanga led to the killing of four armed Chinese nationals. Recovered from the possession of the four were 38 kilograms of high-grade shabu worth P262.2 million and four chamber-loaded caliber .45 pistols.

The four Chinese nationals whose origins were traced from three Chinese provinces were identified as Cai Ya Bing alias ‘Cai,’29, of Yuncheng City, Shanxi; Erbo Ke alias ‘Payat,’34, from Quanzhou City, Fujian; and Huang Guidong, 43, and Wuyuan Shen alias ‘Jinpeng Zhang,’41, both from Zhang Zhou, Fujian province.

Last October 17, PDEA officers also arrested Nestor Rosal,59, an ‘HVT’ in Central Visayas after he sold a kilo of shabu worth P6.8 million to a poseur in Bgy. Kamputhaw, Cebu City.

Last October 16, another PDEA-led operation in Bgy. Salitran 2 in Dasmariñas City, Cavite led to the arrest of Wilfredo Blanco Jr.,37; and Megan Pedroro,38, both residents of Kasiglahan Village in Rodriguez, Rizal. Confiscated from the possession of the two were 240 kilos of shabu with a market value of P1.65 billion.

Last October 1, another operation in Bgy. Molino 3, Bacoor City, Cavite resulted in the arrest of Jorlan San Jose,26; Joseph Maurin,38; and Joan Lumanog,27, all resident of Dominorig, Talatag, Bukidnon after they conspired to sell 149 kilograms of shabu valued at P1.02 billion to an undercover officer.

Records show that from April 5 to last October 21, 2021, anti-narcotics operations conducted by the PNP-DEG headed by Brigadier Gen. Remus B. Medina resulted to the seizure of nearly 981 kilos of shabu worth nearly P668 million.

Also confiscated and destroyed by the PNP-DEG during the period were 1,662,100 pieces of marijuana plants, nearly 849 kilos of cannabis leaves and 60 kilos of marijuana seeds.

Official RealNumbersPH Year 5 records show that from July 1, 2016 to last August 31, government agents have seized P64.09 billion worth of prohibited drugs including P52.96 billion or more than nine tons of shabu, said Director General Villanueva.

The period also saw the arrest of 13,244 ‘high-value targets’ including 322 foreign nationals, 390 elected officials, 120 uniformed personnel, 498 government employees, 3,696 ‘target-listed’ personalities; 791 drug group leaders/members, 75 armed group members, 1,353 drug den maintainers, 283 wanted-listed personalities, 24 celebrities/Professional Regulations Commission or PRC license holders; and 5,692 arrested from high-impact operations.

Villanueva said the period also saw the dismantling of 875 secret drug dens and 18 clandestine shabu laboratories, the killing of 6,191 armed suspects and the arrest of 307,521 others as a result of 213,504 anti-drug operations conducted.

The series of major anti-drug operations conducted by the PDEA and the PNP-DEG this month alone were made with the support of the Task Force Noah of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the Police Regional Office 4-A (PRO 4-A).

Gen. Eleazar said the effects of the successful illegal drug operations by the Duterte government are already being felt by ordinary Filipinos.

According to him, the successful anti-illegal drug operations in the past five years already resulted in the unprecedented 64 percent reduction on crime in the country.

The PNP has always maintained that most of the crime incidents in the country are related to illegal drugs abuse, a position that was vindicated by the continuous and significant reduction of crime in the country in the last five years.

Last September, multi-law enforcement agency operations led by the PDEA and the PNP resulted in the confiscation of more than P5.5 billion worth of shabu in the neutralization of 11 big-time drug traffickers, including the main contact of an international drug syndicate in a series of operations in Zambales, Bataan and Cavite.

The PNP chief cited the ‘whole-of-government approach’ as key factors in the series of anti-narcotics operations in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan and Cavite which led to 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.

The top PNP official said those operations are expected to have a ‘very big impact’ on the illegal drug distribution system in the country.

The sting in Bacoor City, Cavite led to 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 to 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 under Brig. Medina while three were arrested. Confiscated from the suspects were a total of 580 kilograms of shabu worth P3.944 billion.