SOME P49.78 million worth of illegal drugs has been destroyed Wednesday, August 14, by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Zamboanga Peninsula in Zamboanga City.
Lawyer Jacqueline De Guzman, PDEA-Zamboanga Peninsula director, said the destroyed illegal drugs consisted of 7.32 kilos of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) worth P49,773,953 and 71.77 grams of marijuana worth P8,612.436.
De Guzman said the illegal drugs were disposed of by means of thermal destruction method at the Permex Producer and Exporter Corporation, a canning firm, in Barangay Ayala, west of this city.
She said the method employs heat of up to 800 degree Celsius, “making the dangerous drugs totally destroyed.” The illegal drugs were seized by the police and PDEA agents in separate anti-drug operations here in the region.
The PDEA official said the destruction method is prescribed under Section 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) regulation and covered by orders of the courts in this city, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga del Norte.
The destruction of illegal drugs was witnessed by the representatives of Public Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice, Court, Civil Society Group, elected city government officials, Environmental Management Bureau, and the media.
De Guzman said the destruction of the illegal drugs is in conformity to the provision of the Republic Act 9165 and to allay fears of the public that confiscated drugs are being recycled into the streets. (SunStar Philippines)