DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has directed police authorities to investigate whether there is an illegal drug activity within Davao City Jail in Maa involving Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Davao Region (BJMP-Davao) personnel, following the arrest of two individuals who attempted to sneak in several sachets of suspected shabu inside the city jail.
According to the forwarded report from BJMP-Davao, the individuals, who presented themselves as members of a religious organization, were arrested on Thursday afternoon, December 24, after packs of crystalline substance believed to be shabu worth P1.8 million were found hidden inside a pack of a known brand of noodles.
BJMP-Davao said the noodles were supposed to be donated, however, they immediately opened it upon noticing that one of the packed noodles was already tampered with.
Both arrested individuals, a 63-year-old male and a 34-year-old female, are residents of Barangay Alambre, Toril District.
BJMP said the contrabands were immediately turned over for chemical confirmatory and proper disposition.
Duterte-Carpio said on Friday, December 25, in a radio interview that the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) is already investigating the incident and has ordered a thorough investigation.
She added that DCPO Chief Kirby John Kraft personally visited the city jail together with his investigators to look into the incident.
"Gusto nato mahibal-an if duna bay personnel involved dinha sa BJMP (We want to know if there is a BJMP official involved in this illegal activity)," the mayor said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She also said, "It shows na wala nag let down ang kampanya sa atong BJMP sa Maa City Jail kontra illegal drugs (It shows that our BJMP personnel in the Maa City Jail are not letting their guards down in their campaign against illegal drugs)."
SunStar Davao reached out to BJMP-Davao Edo Lobenia for further details but has not responded, as of Sunday.
Lobenia said in a previous virtual presser that the City Jail is strict in letting in goods within the vicinity.
He said they inspect each of the items as part of their standard operating procedure to ensure that no illegal drugs will be smuggled.