From Jan-March…

Narcs haul in 541%

more drugs in 2024

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol April 13, (PIA) –Using burner phones and electronic money transfer schemes, the highly complex nature of the drug trade nowadays also helped authorities insert themselves in the system, allowing them to haul in 541 percent of drugs supposedly for the streets.

Bohol Provincial Police Office Director for Operations Police Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Berondo, at the recent joint meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council and Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council bared that in 2023, in 158 joint anti-narcotic operations in the first three months, they deprived the drug trade some 2 kilos and 356.86 grams of shabu.

By this year, of the same period, the haul is over five times, or some 12 kilos and 756.30 grams forced out of the streets in 169 joint operations, he reported before the council.

In these operations in 2023, authorities from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other law enforcement agencies forcefully recovered some P16,026,648 worth of drugs based on the Dangerous Drugs Board street value.

In the first three months of this year, authorities swept off the streets and the potential users a whooping P86, 803,972 of drugs, Berondo added.

What changed in the authorities’ approaches in the last year?

According to Police Director for Community Affairs and Development Unit (PCADU) chief at Camp Dagohoy, Police Lieutenant Colonel Norman Nuez, they capitalized on the highly complex network of drug trade operations and used it to the government’s advantage.

The dangerous drugs trade works in such a way that the supplier of the drugs uses a burner phone to contact a local distributor, to pick up some bulk delivery in a designated place.

The person handing over the illegal package only picked the bulk of the illegal substance from somebody he does not know, who contacts him by a disposable mobile number, including the distribution instructions.

Now, he also gets the same instruction to re pack the bulk supply and hand it to somebody who can sell it by retail, Col Nuez explained.

That way, when somebody down the line gets caught, he cant be a snitch to somebody and the information stops there.

Payments are all made online, that seldom is cash involved in the transfer, said Col Nuez who added that a distributor gets P50K for disposing a kilo of shabu.

To this, authorities came up with a system hack, causing the biggest haul in years.

To wit, from 9 high value individuals into drugs apprehended in 2023, the figure ballooned to 31 in 2024.

On the bigger bulk of drugs lifted off the streets, PDEA said, “The slight increase of drug volume that reached the streets in Bohol is not only an exclusive concern of authorities of the province, but same is true among different provinces and regions in the entire Philippines.

“Although there is a slight increase in the proliferation of illegal drugs, the strengthened and relentless efforts of law enforcement agencies resulted to the significant seizure of illegal drugs here.

In fact, peace and order situation affected by illegal drugs is “better off” now than in previous years.

Through the Barangay Drug Clearing Program, authorities see much in controlling the severity of illegal drugs with the different government agencies working hand in hand down to the barangay level to address issues in rehabilitating the user and arresting the pushers. (PIAbohol)

INFILTRATING A SYSTEM.