Illegal drug trade in Western Visayas not alarming, says PRO-6 chief

ILOILO CITY – Police Regional Office-6 chief Police Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor said the illegal drug trade in Western Visayas is not alarming despite a large volume of suspected shabu seized on December 17 by the PRO-6 Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU-6) worth P40.8 million in Janiuay town, Iloilo province from two drug suspects.

SUSPECTED shabu worth P40.8 million was seized from two drug pushers in Janiuay town, Iloilo province on December 17. (PNP RPDEU-6)

“The situation is not quite alarming,” said Villaflor.

Villaflor said that police merely intercept illegal drugs that arrive in the region and have no jurisdiction while these are being transported via sea or air.

“Western Visayas is only one of the transshipment areas nationwide. We have 37 seaports, piers, and wharves, some of which are owned and operated by local government units,” Villaflor said.

Shabu valued at P48.7 million were seized in Western Visayas in 60 anti-drug operations from December 11 to 17.

PRO-6 is addressing the situation by leading an initiative among law enforcement and concerned government agencies – the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) – in Western Visayas in the campaign against illegal drugs.