Where do confiscated drugs go?

Councilor Antonio Cuenco
Councilor Antonio Cuenco

WITH the volume of illegal drugs being routinely confiscated in police operations, suspicions have been raised over rogue police members recycling or trading their haul.

Such suspicions have been talked about as the war against illegal drugs escalated, but not in public discussions, until President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 warned “ninja cops” or law enforcers who recycle their catch that they would “die first” if they continued with the practice.

In Cebu City, Councilor Antonio Cuenco is asking the same question about local anti-illegal drugs police operations. He said in a press conference Friday, Sept. 27, that he wants to know where the confiscated drugs go. That led him to ask the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) for their inventory of all confiscated narcotics.

Cuenco sought the help of the local courts to conduct such inventory in the stockrooms of the PNP and PDEA for the last five years and to hasten the issuance of orders to destroy the illegal substances within 72 hours from release of the order.

“I encourage them (PDEA and PNP) to widen their inventory for the last five years, (find out) the value (of the drug seized), how many were seized and the proof that it has been destroyed. If they burned it, why didn’t they invite anyone when, according to the law, the media, public officials, and the public in general should be informed,” Cuenco said.

Cuenco led a House of Representatives inquiry in July 2006 when he, as Cebu City south district congressman, raised questions on the Cebu drug trade. Cuenco was then chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs. He was also primary author of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Last Tuesday, Sept. 24, Cuenco gave a privilege speech before the City Council and presented a resolution to request the PDEA and PNP to render a whole and complete inventory of all dangerous drugs seized from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1. This was approved by the Council. But in the Friday press conference, Cuenco said he decided to expand the period of inventory to the last five years.

Cuenco said, under RA 9165, seized drugs have to be destroyed publicly. “As far as I can remember, no such thing has been done. There is no burning of any drugs. Where are these tons of drugs now? Nakapatimaw ang duda nga girecycle kini,” said Cuenco.

The Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 seized P1.2 billion worth of illegal drugs from July 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019, with the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) having the largest haul of 89.916 kilos of illegal drugs worth P681,479,930 or more than half of the total in the region.

When she assumed office last July, CCPO Director Gemma Vinluan challenged her commanders to step up their game as she gave them a quota of P1 billion worth of confiscated narcotics within the year or they would be replaced.

In a measure to curb the recycling of seized drugs, Vinluan ordered police members who take part in anti-drug operations to not have pant pockets and to be frisked.

Anyone who violates this no-pockets order would be charged, she added. If their pants or shorts have pockets, she said, they should stitch the opening.

But she said she was confident there was no recycling of seized drugs being done here.

PDEA 7 Director Wardley Getalla, for his part, said there is an annual inventory of all the drugs obtained from operations. But, he said, they are open to attending any forum and are ready to show documents.

“We have nothing to hide,” Getalla said. What may have caused delays in destroying the seized drugs, Getalla said, was if the court is handling many drug cases.

Confiscated drugs are inventoried once they are seized and directly sent to the PNP Crime laboratory tasked to keep the evidence. The crime lab issues a certification which is presented to the court.

Once with the crime lab, no police member can access the seized drugs unless armed with a court order.

Cebu Province anti-drug coordinator Clarence Paul Oaminal, also a former Dangerous Drugs Board undersecretary, explained the process saying that after the case against those arrested is filed in court, the court will conduct an ocular inspection.

Within 24 hours from the inspection, the court will have to schedule the destruction of the confiscated drugs.

“Once the order will be issued, all drugs seized should be destroyed even before the start of the trial, except for a small amount for sample,” Oaminal said.

Oaminal said that if the subject died during the operation, the drugs would have to be destroyed without waiting for a court order. (with AYB of Superbalita Cebu)

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