By Aaron Recuenco
The desire for "easy money" is seen as the reason why a lot of illegal drugs personalities are still either killed or arrested almost two years after the war on drugs was launched by the government.
PNP chief Dir. Gen Oscar Albayalde (Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN)
Director General Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), also explained that the illegal drugs trade is also a good business even for ‘small time’ entrepreneur as it promises double or even triple return of investments.
“In illegal drugs activities, even a small investment like P2,000 or P5,000 promise to have a double or even triple earnings. That’s the first reason we see why there are still a lot of street pushers despite our accomplishments, our efforts on illegal drugs,” Albayalde said.
Street drug pushers usually sell five to 10 grams of shabu but Albayalde said the earnings are high that some people found it irresistible to engage in such an illegal activities.
Another reason, he said, is that there are still a lot of drugs supply that serve as supply system for street drug pushers.
As such, Albayalde said they suspect that there are still a stockpile of illegal drugs in the country that might have been smuggled in the past.
He stressed that the modus operandi of the illegal drugs syndicate cooking the shabu in the country is already unlikely due to the high risks of being caught.
“Maybe there are still stocks in the country. Remember, there were illegal drugs which were smuggled in the country like that one in Valenzuela City,” Albayalde said.
The official was referring to the 650 kilos of shabu which was smuggled into the country with the help of erring officials from the Bureau of Customs.
“And we still do not know if there are a lot of stock that were smuggled in the country even before that,” said Albayalde.
Aside from that, the Chief PNP said some illegal drugs syndicates are continuously trying to sneak illegal drugs in the country as proven by the illegal drugs that were seized from the country’s shorelines in the past weeks.
Almost 4,300 suspected drug pushers and users were killed in various police operations since the start of war on drugs in July 2016. More than 143,000 drug suspects, on the other hand, were arrested.
Critics, however, attribute the death of suspected drug pushers and users killed by vigilante groups to have been also perpetrated by the police and other people due to bounty and other reasons.
Some P20 billion worth of illegal drugs were also seized.
But despite the death toll, police continue to kill and arrest drug suspects, usually in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.