POLICE seized additional equipment and ingredients believed to be used in the manufacture of illegal drugs during a follow-up operation in Looc, Occidental Mindoro, days after authorities dismantled a suspected clandestine drug laboratory in the area, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
The operation on May 29, 2026 resulted in the arrest of two individuals identified as Lupito Ramirez, 63, and Agustina Plaza, 51.
It stemmed from an earlier operation conducted on May 26 by operatives of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) in Barangay Bulacan, Looc, where a suspected illegal drug laboratory was discovered and dismantled.
PNP Chief Police General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said investigators were directed to intensify the probe, citing indications that the two arrested individuals may have only been caretakers of the equipment and materials found on the property.
“I commend our personnel for a job well done in locating this area despite being on a remote island. This is clear proof of good intelligence-gathering and the conduct of a strategic operation,” Nartatez said.
Looc is part of the Lubang Island group off the northwestern coast of Occidental Mindoro where several communities can only be reached by boat and have limited communication infrastructure, posing challenges to intelligence and law enforcement operations.
Despite the successful operation, Nartatez said the investigation is far from over.
“But the operation will not end in the dismantling of this illegal drugs laboratory. We have to identify those people behind this and determine if there are other similar facilities in any part of the country,” he said.
The two suspects are currently under the temporary custody of the PNP-DEG while documentation and further investigation are ongoing. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)