AT LEAST 15 villages in Cagayan de Oro City have been declared cleared from illegal drugs, record from the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) showed.

Out of 80 barangays, declared drug-cleared are Barangays 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 19, 20, 21, 26, 37, 39, and 40.

Cocpo spokesperson Police Major Evan Vinas said the declaration was validated and certified by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Northern Mindanao.

“PDEA generated ni nga figure. It was validated and based on accounts sa Badac wala nay nalambigit nga mga drug personalities sa ilang barangay,” Vinas said.

“Kung naa man gani nadakpan sa ilang barangay pero dili na nila constituent nila,” he added.

Vinas also said there is a decline in the number of personalities peddling illegal drugs in the city, including the supply of the dangerous drugs.

Cocpo data showed that the number of drug pushers arrested dropped from 139 in the first quarter to 136 in the second quarter of this year.

But the number of drug users arrested in the same period went up from 27 to 45.

On the other hand, seven drug suspects died for allegedly fighting back against the authorities during police operations.

"Ang supply dunay gikan sa Lanao areas, Surigao and Bukidnon," Vinas said.