PDEA hits record 1,341 operations vs illegal drugs

November 17, 2017

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) posted a record of 1,341 operations from the period of October 10 to November 10, one month after President Rodrigo Duterte declared the agency as the only agency to wage the government’s war against drugs.

The 1,341 operations yielded a total of 404 arrests and P53.83 million of illegal drugs seized, PDEA said in a statement Friday.

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino attributed the achievement to the shift in the agency’s operational thrusts to reduce the number of high-value targets through the conduct of high-impact and quality counter-drug operations.

“This is 80.5 percent more than the operations conducted the previous month. As a result, a 14.4 percent increase in the number of arrested drug personalities was recorded,” Aquino said.

The total value of dangerous drugs and controlled precursors and essential chemicals seized during the period is a 233.3 percent increase compared to the preceding month.

“Out of the seized drug evidence, 6.16 kilograms are methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, with an estimated street value of P30.8 million, as compared to the shabu seizure of 1.87 kilograms worth P9,350,000, confiscated last month, an increase of 229.4 percent,” Aquino added.

“Failure is never an option when we took upon the sole authority in bringing order to country’s anti-drug campaign. We may be undermanned, underequipped and underfunded, but we continually strive to achieve more than what is expected,” Aquino said. DMS