CEBU CITY — More than P500-million worth of illegal drugs went up in smoke in another destruction ceremony conducted here on Thursday, June 5.
Spearheaded by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Central Visayas (PDEA-7) and the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7), the destruction, which was permitted by court, was held at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes, whose thermal facility was used to destroy the illegal drugs.
POLICE Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, chief of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas, loads a pack of shabu into a thermal facility of Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Cebu City during the destruction of seized illegal drugs on Thursday, June 5. (MyTVCebu)
The destroyed illegal drugs amounting to P560,402,548 included 82.34 kilos of shabu, 3.4 kilos of marijuana, 15.7 milliliters of nalbuphine hydrochloride, and 16 milliliters of ephedrine.
The value of the destroyed illegal drugs was the biggest since 2017, said PDEA-7 Director Alex Tablate.
The value reflected the intensified campaign against illegal drugs, added Tablate.
“Based on the seizure that we made in recent months, it would mean that the PDEA and the PNP continue to do their jobs,” said Tablate.
The huge amount of seized illegal drugs also mirrored the cooperation between the PDEA and the police.
Tablate commended the various courts in Central Visayas for immediately issuing orders permitting the PDEA-7 to destroy the seized illegal drugs.
Police Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, chief of PRO-7, said several lives would have been destroyed if law enforcers were not able to prevent the seized illegal drugs from reaching the market.
“It has a big impact. This is half a billion worth of illegal drugs. You could imagine the danger it can cause if they were able to make it to the streets. This has a big impact on peace and order,” Maranan said.
Maranan assured the relentless campaign against illegal drugs will continue, saying that more street-level drug pushers will be arrested in the coming days.