P11-M worth of shabu hidden in coconuts

AN ESTIMATED P11-million worth of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or "shabu" concealed in coconuts were seized inside the Dumaguete City District Jail in Negros Oriental Sunday, May 7.

Chief Inspector Prizel Arevalo, city jail warden, said the illegal drugs came from an adult and a minor who delivered 30 coconuts to Joram Catan, an inmate who is facing drug charges.

The shabu were intercepted by jail guards when they checked the coconuts, which arrived along with cans of milk and fruit cocktail.

A mass was ongoing when the two men delivered the coconuts, and they immediately left without meeting the inmate, Arevalo said.

The items were made to appear as ingredients for a dessert that the inmate will make inside the jail, he added.

However, during the inspection, the guards noticed that six of the 30 coconuts were “altered” and “emptied” of coconut water.

As they opened the fruits, they found four big sachets of shabu inside with a total estimated weight of one kilogram.

Arevalo said Catan denied any knowledge about the drugs that were supposed to be delivered to him.

Senior Superintendent Hernan Grande, director of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Negros Island Region (BJMP-NIR), said the recovered illegal drugs were forwarded to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory while investigation is ongoing.

In February this year, an inspection led by BJMP-NIR personnel resulted in the recovery of about P500,000 worth of suspected shabu at the rooftop of the Male Dormitory of the same jail.

The recovered shabu was placed in a small container wrapped with a packing tape.