Manila Bulletin
World-famous Siargao, could now be a transhipment point for Latin America cocaine – Barbers
World-famous Siargao, could now be a transhipment point for Latin America cocaine – Barbers
World-famous Siargao, could now be a transhipment point for Latin America cocaine – Barbers
By AJ Siytangco
Published Apr 9, 2019 04:00 pm
By Ben Rosario
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte – With the interception of nearly P800 million worth of cocaine in Siargao, the chairman of the House Committee on Drugs on Tuesday aired fears that the world-famous tourist attraction has become a transshipment venue for illegal drugs of international cartels based in Latin America.
Rep. Robert Ace Barbers
(YouTube / MANILA BULLETIN) Second District Rep. Ace Barbers said the discovery of two large deliveries of cocaine in February and last week necessitated the imposition of immediate land and sea security controls in Siargao. But he was quick to add that these should not adversely affect the booming tourism industry and inconvenience tourists in the island. Barbers said there was a strong possibility that narcotics smugglers have local contacts who either repackage the drugs or have local contacts based in Siargao. “Contacts, residents of Siargao, I believe are their contacts. These contacts may be engaged in repacking, or in the wholesale distribution of the dope,” he said. The senior administration solon pointed out that smugglers have no local contacts who are knowledgeable of the island’s security. Last week, 40 bricks of cocaine were discovered by local residents floating in the sea off Burgos town in Siargao Island. On February 14 and 15, a total 70 abandoned cocaine bricks worth nearly half a billion pesos were seized by the police in Siargao and Dinagat. All cocaine bricks bore “3B Bugatti” markings, indicating that they belonged to the same group of drug smugglers. Barbers did not discount the possibility that the foreigners and even locals in Siargao provide a ready market for the recovered cocaine. However, he noted that such large volume of drugs was also an indication that Siargao was being used as a transshipment venue for narcotics that are further distributed to other parts of Asia. Barbers noted that Siargao and Dinagat waters face the Pacific ocean that augurs well for the smuggling route of cocaine coming from Latin American narcotics cartels. “Northeast of Mindanao is facing Pacific Ocean so the island of Siargao and the province of Surigao is within the range of Pacific Ocean. All these international vessels carrying cargo and passengers through that nautical highway and there is a possibility that a distribution system has been set up,” said the re-electionist congressman.
Rep. Robert Ace Barbers(YouTube / MANILA BULLETIN) Second District Rep. Ace Barbers said the discovery of two large deliveries of cocaine in February and last week necessitated the imposition of immediate land and sea security controls in Siargao. But he was quick to add that these should not adversely affect the booming tourism industry and inconvenience tourists in the island. Barbers said there was a strong possibility that narcotics smugglers have local contacts who either repackage the drugs or have local contacts based in Siargao. “Contacts, residents of Siargao, I believe are their contacts. These contacts may be engaged in repacking, or in the wholesale distribution of the dope,” he said. The senior administration solon pointed out that smugglers have no local contacts who are knowledgeable of the island’s security. Last week, 40 bricks of cocaine were discovered by local residents floating in the sea off Burgos town in Siargao Island. On February 14 and 15, a total 70 abandoned cocaine bricks worth nearly half a billion pesos were seized by the police in Siargao and Dinagat. All cocaine bricks bore “3B Bugatti” markings, indicating that they belonged to the same group of drug smugglers. Barbers did not discount the possibility that the foreigners and even locals in Siargao provide a ready market for the recovered cocaine. However, he noted that such large volume of drugs was also an indication that Siargao was being used as a transshipment venue for narcotics that are further distributed to other parts of Asia. Barbers noted that Siargao and Dinagat waters face the Pacific ocean that augurs well for the smuggling route of cocaine coming from Latin American narcotics cartels. “Northeast of Mindanao is facing Pacific Ocean so the island of Siargao and the province of Surigao is within the range of Pacific Ocean. All these international vessels carrying cargo and passengers through that nautical highway and there is a possibility that a distribution system has been set up,” said the re-electionist congressman.