LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Police seized illegal drugs valued at P1 billion and 303 drug personalities were arrested in the Cordillera from January to July this year.
The Police Regional Office-Cordillera, during the third quarter meeting of the Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council at Newtown Plaza Hotel, Baguio City, recently, said the peace and order situation in the region remains generally peaceful as crime volume went down 11.82 percent from 981 cases in January to July 2021 to 865 from January to June 2022.
Police Col. Sibly Dawiguey, chief of the PRO-Cordillera Regional Operations Division (ROD), reported that index crimes also decreased by 18.13 percent, from 182 to 149 cases, and non-index crimes by 6.03 percent, from 365 to 343 cases.
Dawiguey said as a result of the continuous campaign against illegal drugs, 397 operations were conducted from January to July this year that resulted in the confiscation of more than P1 billion worth of illegal drugs and the arrest of 303 drug personalities.
He said 1,392 wanted personalities were arrested in continuous manhunt operations.
Two of them were most wanted persons with rewards, 298 were most wanted persons, and 1,092 were other wanted persons.
Thirty-three operations were conducted in the campaign against illegal gambling, resulting in the arrest of 84 persons and confiscation of P53,800 in bet money and illegal gambling paraphernalia.
Three-hundred seventy-eight operations were conducted against illegal logging, 44 persons were arrested, and 78,439.65 board feet of assorted lumber valued at P5,740,186.61 were recovered and confiscated.
In the campaign against terrorism, 14 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) wanted for rebellion, murder, and multiple frustrated murder were nabbed; 51 NPAs surrendered, 41 NPA supporters withdrew support, and 20 assorted loose firearms were surrendered.