Fishers found P1.5B worth of shabu off Zambales waters —PDEA

Ten fishermen from Bataan discovered ten sacks of shabu worth P1.5 billion floating off the waters of Masinloc, Zambales, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Monday evening.

In a statement, PDEA said the fishermen found the illegal drugs on May 29 and turned them over to authorities on Monday, June 2.

Inside the ten sacks were 223 assorted vacuum-sealed transparent plastic packs containing the illegal drugs.

In a separate statement, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the agency received a report about the sacks of suspected narcotics from a fisherman.

Out of fear of possible reprisal, the PCG said the fisherman secured the contraband aboard a grounded barge in Mariveles, Bataan.

Coast Guard K9 units inspected the items and confirmed the presence of suspected illegal drugs.

Based on the inventory, the PCG said a total of 222.655 kilograms of shabu were obtained with an estimated market value of P890,620,000. The PCG added that the Dangerous Drugs Board’s valuation for these drugs is P1.5 billion.

“We identified four sacks containing 100 vacuum-sealed packs labeled ‘Freeso Dried Durien,’ five sacks with 116 vacuum-sealed packs labeled ‘Daguanyin,’ and one sack with seven transparent packs—each pack containing suspected shabu,” the Coast Guard Station Bataan said.

The Coast Guard Station Bataan immediately coordinated with the PDEA-Bataan that conducted an on-site assessment and confirmed that the recovered items were indeed illegal drugs.

The PDEA Regional Office 3 ordered a probe into the origin of the drugs. Anti-illegal drug agents in Bataan and Zambales are collaborating with other law enforcement agencies and local governments.

According to the PDEA, the recovered drugs will undergo forensic examination.—Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News