NCRPO seizes P432M worth of illegal drugs in March

Authorities seized around P432 million worth of illegal drugs and arrested 2,010 people in more than 1,077 operations from March 1 to 31, according to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

At least 563 most wanted persons as well as 634 other wanted persons were arrested during the period, the NCRPO said.

Police Major General Felipe Natividad, the NCRPO chief, said that 719 of Metro Manila's 1,709 barangays have been cleared of illegal drugs.

“We have been in the headway of our campaign. We are getting closer to helping PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) in the clearing of a number of barangays in anti-illegal drugs operations,” Natividad said in a statement.

“In the days to come, we intend to strengthen our resolve and launch more operations in order to put an end to illegal drugs in NCR that are threatening the lives of our communities as the use of drugs contributes to other crimes perpetrated within the metropolis,” he added.

As a result of intensified measures to address the proliferation of illegal firearms in Metro Manila, the NCRPO was also able to recover 160 firearms with the arrest of 150 people.

It also arrested 1,721 people and confiscated P297,811 worth of bets in 582 illegal gambling operations in March.

“It has been my belief that if we want to help introduce change for our people, we should accomplish greater things for our country, and deliver the results to the satisfaction of the peace-loving citizens. And this expectation must be complemented with the best quality of police officers we could have,” Natividad said. —VBL, GMA News