By John Rey Saavedra
CEBU CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Central Visayas is enhancing its K-9 units stationed at every port of entry across Cebu and the entire Central Visayas region to bolster efforts in intercepting illegal drugs entering the province, revealed a police official on Thursday.
Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office-7, emphasized that deploying drug-sniffing dogs to all ports serves as a deterrent against drug syndicates attempting to utilize Cebu as a transshipment hub for illegal drugs originating from various parts of the country.
On top of it, the deployment of anti-narcotics operatives has also been intensified in different ports to guard against the entry of contraband using land trips and inter-island Roll-on and Roll-off vessels.
Pelare’s comment came following the arrest of an alleged warehouseman and his brother in a sting operation near a cemetery in Barangay Carreta here that also led to the confiscation of PHP68 million suspected shabu recently.
The drugs, reportedly sourced from Metro Manila, were intended for distribution outside Cebu.
Further investigation disclosed that drug syndicates are using land travel and Roll-on Roll-off vessels in smuggling shabu in bulk.
Pelare said the volume of illegal drugs seized from January 1 to March 4, valued at PHP349 million, was proof that the PNP is actively working to intercept drug smuggling in the region, particularly in Cebu.
“Let us focus on the fact that we are effective in tracking this supply (chain). Of course the role of the community is very important because they are the ones giving us information,” he said.
Pelare assured the people in Central Visayas that “their PNP is on top in arresting high-value targets and intercepting drugs” to deny its circulation to the public. (PNA)
