By Alexandria Denisse San Juan
Illegal drugs seized from recent buy-busts in Metro Manila and in Maguindanao matched with the samples of shabu intercepted at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in August, a top official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said that based on results of laboratory, samples from recently recovered bulk sachets of shabu in Quezon City, Manila, Muntinlupa, and in Maguindanao turned out to be similar with the seized P3.4 billion worth of shabu at the MICP.
The drug samples subjected to tests were illegal drugs seized from PDEA’s recent entrapment operations in Sitio Tenorio, Barangay Awang DOS in Maguindanao on July 19; along Congressional Avenue, Barangay Bahay Toro in Quezon City on August 1, 2018; along Ronquillo Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila on August 26; and in Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa on October 1.
“Itong mga seizure na ginawa namin, minatch namin, kinompare namin doon sa nakuha naming ilegal na droga sa MICP. And it turned out that they are similar and strongly correlated. In short, iisang source (These illegal drugs that we seized, we matched it, we compared it to the illegal drugs we seized in the MICP. And it turned out that they are similar and strongly correlated. In short, they only have one source),” the PDEA chief revealed in an interview.
According to PDEA, the shabu samples were subjected to “impurity drug profiling,” an analytical technique that helps establish links between samples of confiscated drug evidence.
On August 7, combined operatives of PDEA, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) intercepted 154 pieces of foil-wrapped sealed plastic packs containing more than 300 kilos of shabu concealed inside two magnetic lifters at MICP, North Harbor, Manila.
Two days after, four more magnetic lifters were discovered abandoned by the anti-narcotic agents in a warehouse inside a subdivision in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite, but upon inspection, the metal containers were found empty.
Despite yielding negative results from swab testing, PDEA’s drug-sniffing dogs have responded positively in detecting traces of the illegal drug inside the lifters.
“PDEA maintains that the four magnetic lifters found in Cavite contained shabu and stands by its K9 capability. PDEA is also convinced that the magnetic lifters found in MICP and Cavite bore close resemblance and are connected to one another,” Aquino stated.
With the recent link established by the agency, Aquino maintained that the empty magnetic lifters have already found their way in the streets, and that the kilos of illegal drugs they recently recovered were part of the missing shabu shipment.
Recently, PDEA claimed that illegal drugs is now flooding the streets as indicated by the sudden drop in the price per gram of shabu which is now at P1,400 per gram from P6,800 per gram in July 2018.
However, National Capital Region Police Office Director Guillermo Eleazar cited the “law of supply and demand” behind the shabu price drop.
“Yung kasing pagbagsak ng presyo, naniniwala ako na pwede talagang bumaba ito dahil doon sa sinasabi nga natin na pagdami ng supply at pagbaba ng demand,” Eleazar said in a recent interview.
According to the Metro Manila top cop, with the 55,000 illegal drug personalities they have arrested, the demand on illegal drugs will probably decline which will cause its price to decrease.
With Aquino’s claims, Eleazar assured the public that the police force’s anti-illegal drug operations is being conducted continuously.