President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. inspects the two tons of shabu, with a street value of P13.3 billion, in Barangay Pinagkrusan, Alitagtag, Batangas where the illegal drugs were intercepted on Monday, April 15, 2024. With the President are Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil. (Noel B. Pabalate)
Police are eyeing the high seas as the entry point of around two tons of shabu that were seized during a checkpoint in Batangas province, the reason why anti-illegal drugs coordination with other countries are being intensified.
Col. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that the P13.3 billion worth of shabu seized in Batangas were supposed to be distributed to illegal drugs operators in Metro Manila and nearby areas.
“That is one of the possible sources and origin of these seized illegal drugs,” said Fajardo when asked how the two tons of shabu entered the country.
“Batangas has big coastal areas so this is now the subject of our investigation and investigation build-up,” she added.
On Monday morning, police forces of Alitagtag Municipal Police Station discovered the two tons of shabu on board a vehicle driven by 47-year old Alajon Michael Zarate, 47, a resident of Quezon City.
Until now, Fajardo said Zarate remains mum as to his accomplices in the transportation of the large quantity of shabu, which Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. described as the biggest drug haul in a single operation in the history of drug war in the country.
The officer-in-charge of Alitagtag Municipal Police Station, Police Capt. Luis De Luna, Jr. was recommended for spot promotion for exercising integrity and quick mind during the checkpoint when he insisted on checking the vehicle after a foul smell emanated from the car while the driver was being asked for a driver’s license.
The operation, according to the police, was intelligence-driven, which stemmed from talks among the intelligence community that a large quantity of shabu was on the move in Calabarzon areas.
Police are now conducting background investigation, including the ownership of the vehicle where the shabu was loaded, as well as the possibility that what was seized was part of a larger quantity of shabu shipment that entered the country.
“It is not impossible that this was part of a bigger shipment, that is why the PNP and the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) are exchanging intelligence packets to determine the whereabouts of the origin of these illegal drugs,” said Fajardo.
“The packaging contains some foreign characters that would give us indication that this may have possibly come from sources outside of the Philippines. Based on our assessment, these are not locally made. These came from the international market or international drug traffickers, importers or smugglers for that matter,” she added.
The missing yacht
Fajardo said part of the background investigation is the tracing of a yacht where the large shipment of shabu was loaded.
There were also reports that it was the yacht that picked up the large shipment of shabu from the high seas, the same modus operandi employed by illegal drug smugglers.
“Our intelligence operatives are not discounting the possibility that a yacht was used but this is still subject for validation,” said Fajardo.
“Our investigators are also talking with other people where the arrested suspect was last seen before his arrest,” she added.
Usual modus
During the drug war in the last administration, the PNP said all the shabu laboratories in the country were already dismantled and the illegal drugs that enter the country usually come from other countries using the high seas where the shipments are allegedly being dropped and picked up by local drugs contacts of international drug rings.
In September 2021, a large shipment of shabu was also intercepted at the coastal area of Zambales—the operation resulted in the death of at least three foreign drug traffickers.
With 7,107 islands, the Philippines has one of the longest coastlines in the world which stretches 36,289 kilometers.
It extends 2,000 kilometers from Batanes to Jolo encompassing 25 major cities located on the coast. It is also estimated that more than 60 percent of the Philippine population lives along the coast.
Inter-agency alliance
PDEA earlier signed an agreement with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to prevent the flow of illegal drugs using the country’s vast expanse of coastlines.
Under the agreement, PDEA and the PCG have declared their cooperation relative to the interdiction of illegal drugs and controlled precursors and essential chemicals (CPECs) smuggled, transported and transshipped into the Philippine territory.
Both parties have agreed to hold regular meetings for the purpose of discussing operational matters, the current status of the programs, and the formulation of necessary strategies to facilitate the accomplishments of the MOA’s objectives; and exchange best practices and knowledge on drug smuggling, transportation and transshipment.
In addition, PDEA shall establish a comprehensive information collection plan to obtain information on illegal drug activities from sources at all levels, and shall take the lead role in narcotics investigation and the conduct of anti-drug operations, while PCG shall assist the former in gathering, collecting, processing, and analyzing information to prevent the entry of illegal drugs through the coastlines.
The MOA also paved the way to deputize PDEA personnel to join PCG in enforcement inspections of merchant ships and vessels within the ambit of its lawful authority.