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Thursday, April 06, 2006
Drug lords using marine vessels as drug den?
By Ruby P. Silubrico
THE Police office in Western Visayas is now verifying reports that drug lords are now using marine vessels as their drug den in order to hide their operation from and mislead the operatives.
There are reports that drug lords are now using marine vessels as their hideout in selling drugs, most especially in Estancia.
However, Deputy Regional Director for Operations Isagani Cuevas said Wednesday they have not yet received such report but vowed to verify it and alerted their men in the said area.
"But, it's not far-fetched. It could be possible because seaports now serve as the entry points of drugs, especially here in the northern Iloilo. There are lots of ports in some towns," Cuevas said.
"All entry and exit points are now being monitored and we are coordinating with other monitoring arms of the government," he added.
Cuevas admitted that drugs easily enter the area because of the roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) trips "because our police are using the plain view doctrine. We can't easily frisk a certain person for fear of violating that person's rights."
"Unless we have positive information from our assets, we still we have to follow rules," he added.
He said that all assets were intensified, being their force and strength to gather information.
"We can't totally stop the proliferation of drugs because we are now in the developing stage. We are asking for the support of the community because we value their efforts in giving us information," he added.
Marijuana
On the other hand, Cuevas said all their units are also alerted to monitor their respective area for the presence of marijuana plantations.
There's raw information that there are marijuana plantations in some areas of Negros Occidental. The regional office urged police chiefs to check their area of responsibility.
Metro Manila and Mindanao are still consistent sources of drugs but the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (Pdea) is intensifying its efforts to reduce drugs distribution in Western Visayas.
He claimed that drugs distribution in the region is very tolerable.
(April 6, 2006 issue)
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