People in Region 1 told to remain vigilant as shabu continues to turn up in West Philippine Sea
CAMP FLORENDO, San Fernando City, La Union – Police urged people in the Ilocos region to remain vigilant as floating shabu continues to be found in the West Philippine Sea.
Police Brig. Gen. Lou F. Evangelista, Ilocos police chief, reminded them to immediately report any suspicious items found on the shoreline to authorities and refrain from opening these.
Evangelista said three kilograms of shabu with a total value of P20.4 million were found in three areas in Ilocos Norte this week.
On Thursday, a local tourist found a pack of shabu in a rock formation in Currimao.
A day after, two fishermen recovered two similar items in a beach in Paoay and Laoag City.
The contraband are now in the custody of the PDEA-Ilocos Norte Provincial Office for proper disposition.
Evangelista said authorities are conducting continuous patrol and coordinating with all coastal communities to recover similar packages.
He thanked fishermen who turned them over to lawmen.
“Their immediate and honest actions have been crucial in continuously intercepting this massive volume of illegal drugs from reaching our streets. We are working closely with PDEA and other partner agencies to trace the origin of these packages. The recurring nature of these discoveries along the coast of Region 1 points to the possibility that drug traffickers are using our territorial waters to smuggle contraband,” said Evangelista who added that these were connected to earlier recoveries in Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur.