PDEA to destroy 1.4 tons of seized illegal drugs

Around 1.4 tons of illegal drugs will be destroyed by the government on October 26, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) announced on Tuesday.

"Currently 3.45 tons of assorted dangerous drugs remain to be at PDEA custody, of which 1.8 tons are shabu. On October 26, 1.4 tons will be destroyed in Trece Martires Cavite ," PDEA Director and spokesperson Derrick Arnold Carreon said during a press briefing.

According to PDEA, the drugs to be incinerated are those that the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) turned over to the agency's custody.

These will be destroyed in a facility accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and is located in the outskirts of the province.

Carreon said these drugs were seized as early as 2002 and 2003 but were given court orders just recently.

PDEA explained that the agency cannot just destroy dangerous drugs without court decisions on the drug cases where these were obtained.

"Kailangan ng court order. It is not PDEA's sole decision to just burn. It has to come from the courts. It has to be ordered by the court. Yan ang peculiarity dyan ... kustodiya natin pero hangga't hindi ipinag-uutos ng korte, hindi natin pwedeng sunugin kaya kailangan po dyan, 'yung mabilis na takbo ng kaso," Carreon said.

For her part, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael appealed to lawmakers to take measures in order to hasten the court proceedings of drug cases.

"We'd like to call on our partners in legislature to look into the process on how they can fast-track the processes in our courts in order for all the dangerous drugs which were confiscated years back to be destroyed right away," she said.

Ongoing RealNumbersPH press briefing at the Philippine Information Agency auditorium with PNP Deputy Spokesperson P/Supt. Kimberly Molitas, PCOO Asec. Marie Rafael, and PDEA Spokesperson Dir. Derrick Arnold Carreon. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/15RzrVYCBB

— Dona Magsino (@donabel_magsino) October 23, 2018

'Lower selling price'

Based on the recent test-buy operations of PDEA, the selling price of shabu has spiraled down because its supply has flooded the market.

"'Yung sinasabi pong bagsak na presyo, ang naging basehan namin dito yung mga test-buy ng mga operatiba on the ground. From July this year we've recorded the price at 6,800 per gram based sa mga transaction. Right now our transactions have revealed na unti-unting nagbabago...ngayon may nakakapg-negotiate nang P1400 per gram," Carreon said.

"Over the weekend... our operatives have been able to negotiate half a kilo of shabu, South of Manila, in a parking lot. Kalahating kilo ang presyo nila P900,000. Mababa talaga," he added.

PDEA claims that the P6.8 billion worth of shabu contained in magnetic lifters smuggled through the Manila International Container Terminal (MICP) have made it to the market.

This was after they conducted a scientific study indicating a strong correlation between the shabu seized in recent drug operations in Metro Manila and the drugs smuggled using magnetic lifters. — RSJ, GMA News