Fishermen from three barangays in Ilocos Sur found sacks of suspected shabu floating off the coast. In just three days, authorities seized over P410 million worth of illegal drugs.

On June 7, a fisherman from Barangay Mantanas in Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur found 25 packs of suspected shabu floating near the shoreline.

The contents weighed 22 kilograms, with an estimated value of P149.6 million.

Later that same day, another fisherman from Barangay Dili, Sta. Cruz, reported finding 12 more kilos of suspected shabu worth P81.6 million.

On June 9, a third fisherman discovered another white sack in the waters near Barangay Puro in Magsingal, Ilocos Sur.

The sack contained 25 packs labeled as tea, filled with white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu.

Authorities confirmed the contents weighed over 26 kilograms and were valued at more than P179 million.

“Binuksan namin kung ano ‘yung laman. Akala namin durian. Tapos ang laman pala, sir, ‘yung crystal,” John Lloyd Padilla, one of the fishermen who found the sacks, said.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) believes the drugs came from the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, a known base of transnational drug syndicates operating in Asia, North America, and Europe.

“Ito ‘yung boundaries of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Diyan ho kasi ‘yung malaki ang production ng shabu,” Atty. Joseph Frederick Calulut, PDEA spokesperson, said.

He said this method of dropping shabu at sea is a known tactic.

“They were expecting na ‘yung local contact would come and get this suspected shabu... Most likely, there are several na maiiwan lang sa Philippines. The rest, baka transshipment lang po tayo,” he added.

From June 5 to 8, 2025 alone, authorities recovered 1,013 kilograms of suspected shabu from Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur shores — worth an estimated P6.88 billion.

The investigation continues as of this writing.