PDEA destroys close to P6B dangerous drugs
By Chito Chavez
A total of P5,968.744.462 worth of confiscated dangerous drugs and other similar substances were destroyed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Friday, Oct. 20, at the Integrated Waste Management Inc. (IWMI) facility in Trece Martires City, Cavite.
The seized drugs were destroyed through thermal decomposition or thermolysis, the PDEA said.
“Exposed to temperatures of over 1,000 degrees centigrade, all dangerous drugs were completely decomposed or broken down and are impossible to reconstitute,” it noted.
In a statement, the PDEA stated that the aforementioned destroyed dangerous drugs include 274 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu), that were seized at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) on Oct. 6; and 208 kilograms of dimethyl sulfone, a shabu extender recovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Mabalacat, Pampanga on Aug. 25.
The destroyed stockpile of illegal drugs had a total weight of 1,019,204.7581 grams. Majority of the illegal drugs destroyed were 471,478.0639 grams of shabu, 312,993.9424 grams of marijuana, and 208,909 grams of dimethyl ulfone.
“The burnt dangerous drugs comprised the evidence seized from various anti-drug operations conducted by PDEA, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP), NBI, and other counterpart law enforcement and military units, but were no longer needed as evidence in court. The expeditious prosecution and disposition of drug cases where said drugs served as evidence, led to its immediate destruction," PDEA pointed out.
Representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), local officials of Barangay Aguado, Philippine National Police (PNP), NBI, non-government organizations (NGOs) and media partners joined key PDEA officials in witnessing the destruction activity.
Seven months ago, PDEA also orchestrated the destruction of 3.7 tons worth of dangerous drugs in Cavite worth P19.9 billion, in what was billed “as an unprecedented event, making it the largest in terms of volume and value in the country’s history of drug law enforcement."