THE Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) has seized more than P157 million worth of illegal drugs in the last eight months.

Its biggest haul took place between June and September when it seized 11 kilos of shabu with a standard drug price of P79.4 million and P42,000 worth of marijuana.

On Sept. 15, 2022, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia declared an all-out war against illegal drugs and urged all mayors and officials of national government agencies to join her.

Despite the amount of illegal drugs seized, the CPPO has yet to find a shabu lab in the province. This is because the illegal drugs come from outside Cebu, according to CPPO Director Col. Rommel Ochave.

“Based on the information we gathered from arrested suspects and some private citizens, the illegal drugs are shipped to Cebu,” he said.

Because of this, Ochave said, the CPPO will tighten border controls with the help of the Philippine Coast Guard, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to keep an eye on contraband brought into the province.

Ochave said they’ve also arrested 2,263 drug personalities, some of whom were high-value individuals and were already charged in court.

The CPPO also arrested 2,128 wanted persons of whom 292 were on the list of most wanted individuals in the provincial and municipal levels.

It also nabbed 3,254 persons for illegal gambling. (AYB / PJB)