By Perla Lena
ILOILO CITY – The Police Regional Office in Western Visayas (PRO-6) has confiscated PHP74.87 million worth of illegal drugs and arrested 184 suspects in February, officials reported Monday.
In a press conference, the PRO-6 said 144 anti-illegal drug operations were conducted last month, resulting in the seizure of 11 kilograms of illegal drugs, and the arrest of 70 high-value individuals and 114 street-level individuals.
The most notable was the confiscation of 2.06 kilos of shabu in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Maya in Balasan, Iloilo, with an estimated value of PHP14.08 million.
PRO-6 director Brig. Gen. Josefino Ligan said that while the results of the intensified anti-drug campaign in the region were commendable, he found it alarming that among those apprehended were barangay officials – a Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson, a punong barangay and a barangay tanod.
“We will continue to conduct law enforcement operations against those people involved. If they want to continue, then, in time, they will be arrested. Everything is possible, and possible just takes time,” he said.
Ligan cited the geographical location of Western Visayas, where there are a lot of entry points.
He noted that most of those apprehended point to the National Capital Region as the source of drugs.
He said they have already determined an area as the center of drug distribution in the region, but did not disclose the location.
“We will be coordinating with the respective local government,” he said. (PNA)
