ILOILO CITY, Nov. 23 (PNA) — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-6 (PDEA-6) has confiscated around PHP83 million worth of illegal drugs that are seized either while in transit to Western Visayas or through various anti-illegal drug operations in the region.
PDEA-6 regional director Paul Ledesma said that the confiscation covered the January to October 2015 period and around 90 percent of which were shabu. This is 14 es higher when compared with their accomplishments of around PHP26.2 million for the same period last year, he said.
In 2010 to 2012, seized drugs were priced between PHP3.8 million to PHP5.5 million and PHP9.9 million in 2013.
The bulk of the confiscation is in the provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo. The entry point, he said, are mostly through roll-on roll-off while transactions happened out-of-town.
Suppliers usually shy away from highly urbanized cities due to the strategic positioning of law enforcement agencies.
“The increase in seizure does not translate to increase in drug problems. It is because we let go of the street level and we concentrated from the source,” he said.
Currently, Region 6 is the third region in the country that is least affected by illegal drugs with around 65,000 drug abusers. (PNA)