ANOTHER pack of suspected cocaine was found, this time by a student, along the shoreline in Perez town, Quezon province, police said Wednesday, February 20.
The Quezon Provincial Police Office said the 16-year-old student, who asked not to be named, found the pack of cocaine in Sitio Banlag, Barangay Villamanzano Norte on February 17 but left it in the area after seeing a soggy matter with bad smell.
The student returned to the area to retrieve the pack after seeing a report on television regarding a brick of floating cocaine found in Mauban town. He then surrendered the package to the village officials, who then called the police for assistance.
The recovered item was brought to Provincial Laboratory in Lucena City for examination while police are coordinating with fishermen and local residents for possible recovery of other cocaine blocks.
The discovery in Perez town Sunday, February 17, was the fifth incident of reported “floating cocaine” since February 12.
On February 12, fishermen recovered 48 blocks of cocaine along the shore in Purok 2, Barangay Poblacion, Dinagat Island.
The next day, 40 more blocks were found in the shore of Siargao, San Isidro in Surigao del Norte.
On February 17, a fisherman turned over blocks of cocaine, which he found in the shoreline in Barangay Bagumbayan, Paracale, Camarines Norte. Police said the recovered drugs was worth more than P5 million.
On Monday, February 18, another brick of suspected cocaine was recovered in a shoreline in Mauban, Quezon.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said Tuesday, February 19, that it is looking at three international drug syndicates that may be behind the floating cocaine found along the country’s eastern seaboard.
PDEA Director Aaron Aquino said they were coordinating with their international counterparts to identify the people behind the shipments. (SunStar Philippines)