President Rodrigo Duterte has warned drug importers again they would be killed if they continued to flood the country with illegal drugs.
Duterte said while there were no more drug laboratories operating in the country, the importation of drugs remained active.
The President issued the warning during the inauguration of Gaisano Grand Citygate Mall in Davao city, saying they should not underestimate him.
“Don’t destroy the country and its young people, or else [you] face consequences,” said Duterte, who has been criticized for his continuing drug war that has claimed more than 4,000 suspected drug pushers and users.
In a related development:
• The chief of Bohol’s provincial police has lamented the extent of the drug problem in the province.
In a press conference with members of the Bohol Police Provincial Office press corps, Senior Supt. Angeles Geñorga said on Friday the huge amount of drugs seized by his men recently made him realize that much needs to be done to deal with the province’s drug problem.
Personnel of the Provincial Intelligence Branch and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, armed with a search warrant, raided the residence of suspect Joseph Alburadora in Barangay Mansasa on Wednesday and seized 945 grams of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) worth P11 million.
The President even told police officers to carry out their duties, promising to pardon them if they were investigated or convicted of killing suspects in the course of carrying out their mission in the drug war.
“If they want to put up a violent fight, thereby placing yourself, the lawmen, in jeopardy, go for it. That is my order,” he said.
According to Duterte, “Importation [of the illegal drugs], it’s from the Bamboo Triad. They hold drug operations in Southeast Asia and Mexico,” he said.
“These drug dealers know fully well that their business is against the law. They know the consequences of their criminal acts, especially when they are caught in the act and they violently resist arrest. They know that illegal drugs waste away lives, destroy families, and ruin relationships,” the President said.
Duterte launched the anti-drug crackdown after he took office in June 2016 to wipe out the drug trade in the country.
Despite criticisms both here and other countries, Duterte said he would not be dissuaded from continuing his war on drugs.
Geñorga said his men were shocked to find the huge volume of drugs as they never expected the suspect to have such a big stock in his possession.
The BPPO chief said the suspect allegedly received a kilogram of shabu from his suppliers but already managed to sell some of the stashes prior to the raid.
This development, Geñorga said, only showed the huge market for drugs in Bohol and the need to work on demand reduction to eliminate the problem.
A kilo of shabu can be repacked into approximately 40,000 smaller packs, which will then be sold to small players in the drug trade operating near and around the city, he said.
Geñorga, on the other hand, said he was happy with the successful implementation of the Enhanced Managing Police Operations, which resulted in the arrest of 45 persons, including Alburadora, in different parts of the province.
About 1.87 kg. of shabu with a total street value of P11,810,266 had been seized from the suspects upon the implementation of the EMPO this week.
Geñorga said they were also verifying the information that an inmate of the Bohol District Jail was allegedly supervising Alburadora’s drug trade from inside the prison facility.
The Cybercrime Division is also conducting a forensic investigation on Alburadora’s mobile gadgets to establish the connection between the suspect and the BDJ inmate.
Meanwhile, the BPPO has finalized its operational and security plan for the upcoming observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Geñorga said BPPO personnel would be deployed to main transportation hubs and tourist information desks and would beef up security in major cemeteries across the province. With PNA
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