PNP ‘on track’ vs culprits in Pangasinan’s P6.8-B ‘shabu’ haul
LABRADOR, PANGASINAN—Philippine National Police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. vowed to unmask the personalities behind the massive cache of “shabu” (crystal meth) discovered in a private property in this town on Friday night.
Nartatez said the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were already “on track” in identifying and pursuing the suspects who would be charged and subject to arrest warrants.
“For sure, we have enough pieces of evidence, and we will pursue them—especially since they left traces, whether electronic or through witnesses who can identify where they came from,” he said in a press briefing here Saturday.
PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez, who was in the same press briefing, said authorities would not rest “until we are able to account for all the persons responsible for these major drug operations.”
The two-day antidrug operations in Pangasinan led to the confiscation of 1,020 kilograms of shabu, estimated to be worth P6.8 billion, which were packed in tea cartons with Chinese markings and even had QR codes.
The discovery of the large amount of shabu was triggered by the arrest on Thursday of two drug dealers in Bugallon town—a 40-year-old Chinese national known by the alias “Monkey” and his driver, alias “Gardo,” 54, a resident of Mampang, Zamboanga City—who yielded 125 kilos of meth.
On Friday night, authorities raided a private property in this coastal town where they found 895 kilos of shabu already loaded in two vehicles, apparently bound for Metro Manila.
Nerez said the total volume of seized shabu—1,020 kilos—would still be verified to determine the precise weight, as the initial figure included several layers of plastic packaging.
New shipment
He said investigators were confident the shabu recovered in Bugallon came from the same warehouse in Labrador, noting the identical Chinese character markings on the packs.
He also clarified that the latest seizure was not connected to the 1.4 tons of shabu confiscated in Zambales last June, which was suspected to be intended for delivery to Pangasinan.
“This is a new shipment,” Nerez said.
The private property in Labrador that served as a warehouse was reportedly purchased only two months ago. Mayor Noel Uson said he had no information yet about the previous or current owners.
Nerez said the property would be forfeited in favor of the government “to serve as a lesson to those who harbor drug syndicates.”
The raid was carried out under a search warrant issued by Judge Vincent Lamug of the Regional Trial Court Branch 70 in Burgos town.
Nerez credited Police Regional Office Ilocos Region director Brig. Gen. Dindo Reyes and Pangasinan Provincial Police director Col. Arbel Mercullo with securing the warrant.
He noted that Pangasinan has become a “favorite dumping ground” for illegal drugs because of its proximity to international smuggling routes along the high seas.
Dumping ground
Zambales and a province in Mindanao are also considered key entry points, he said.
Last June, floating packs of shabu were recovered off the coastal towns of Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.
Nerez noted that the total volume of shabu seized during the Marcos administration has already surpassed that of all previous administrations combined.
Nerez reiterated that the confiscated drugs would be destroyed immediately and expressed gratitude to the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard for their close coordination in the government’s antidrug campaign.
