The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency XI (PDEA XI) conducted at least 320 operations in the first two months of the year.
PDEA XI Assistant Regional Director Atty. Behn Joseph Tesiorna, in yesterday’s Kapehan sa PIA, said the PDEA together with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies were able to conduct 182 operations in January and 140 operations in February.
They arrested 260 individuals, including six who were killed in the operations, since January.
Among the arrested 260 suspects, 182 are drug pushers and the remaining 98 are the possessors.
Tesiorna said they seized 596.1 grams of shabu and 1,080 grams of marijuana in the January operations. In February, they seized 883 grams of shabu.
“In the month of February, the recovery has increased, despite the fact that we have conducted more operations in January,” he said.
Tesiorna admitted that illegal drug supplies dumped in the region have been increasing since December.
The officer said they are monitoring reports that some 60 kilograms of shabu recently entered the city from Marawi City. Further investigation has been conducted by the PNP and PDEA regional offices on the matter.
He said they noticed that the P9 million worth of shabu they seized from a couple in Tagum City last Feb. 13 has the same quality with the shabu they seized from another operation two weeks ago, apparently part of the 60 kilos dumped in the region.
However, Tesiorna said the biggest supply of drug entering the city is from the National Capital Region. “They (drug suppliers) would transport it either by sea or land,” he said.
“It can be that these drug dealers are likely to see Davao City as a place to bring in drugs (because) the city is a highly urbanized place in the region,” he said.
He said the city has bigger population compared to other areas in the regions. He said the city may have bigger consumers that is good for drug dealing.
Tesiorna assured that continuous operations will be conducted to assure that the city will be free from drugs, as he said “When you have drugs around, your life and the people around you will be in danger.”
He urged the public to help them in their drive against illegal drugs by giving information to authorities on suspected pushers. (with reports from UM Intern Christy Andrea Petinglay and JMC Intern Khim Vanjo Jimenez)
