Three blocks of suspected cocaine recovered in Batanes

April 17, 2019

Authorities recovered three blocks of suspected cocaine in the waters of Basco, Batanes last Tuesday.

The Cagayan provincial police said a fisherman identified as Roger Gallo Gabotero turned over three blocks of suspected cocaine weighing around one kilogram with an estimated street value of P5.7 million to Basco Police Station.

Gabotero recovered the blocks of cocaine while fishing near Naidi Light House in Basco around 3:20 pm.

He said he saw the pack of tea floating where the first packaging was sealed with white plastic and the second was sealed with green foil with “guanyinwang” refined Chinese tea label and Chinese characters markings.

The third was a transparent vacuum sealed plastic with letter 'A' red markings.

Brigadier General Jose Mario Espino, Cagayan valley regional police director, directed the Basco station and nearby stations to scour part of the sea and its seashore to recover additional items.

The recovered items were brought to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency- Cagayan Region laboratory for examination. Ella Dionisio/DMS