Pangasinan waters yield 21 more sacks of ‘shabu’
MULTIBILLION-PESO ‘CATCH’ Authorities inspect the sacks of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) found by fishermen off the coastal towns of Pangasinan from June 5 to June 6. —PCG photo
MANILA, Philippines — An additional 21 sacks believed to be containing “shabu” (crystal meth) were recovered on Friday in the waters off the coast of Pangasinan province, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
This was a day after the discovery of seven sacks in about the same area off Pangasinan in the West Philippine Sea.
The total find of 28 sacks would have a street value of about P3.9 billion, the PCG said in a report on Saturday.
The PCG Northwestern Luzon district said 21 sacks retrieved on Saturday were found either by local fishermen or by coast guard patrol teams who had stepped up their monitoring after Friday’s discoveries.
READ: Bataan fishermen discover P1.5-B shabu in waters off Zambales
“The investigation remains ongoing to determine the source and intended recipients of the recovered illegal drugs,” said Capt. Mark Larsen Mariano, the district commander.
In a statement also on Saturday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said a total of 29 fishermen had reported finding the sacks since Friday.
Within the 28 sacks are 588 smaller, vacuum-sealed plastic packs weighing a total of 588.8 kilograms, PDEA said.
They were turned over in 19 batches to law enforcement and local government officials at the coastal barangays of Dacap Sur in Bani town; Boboy in Agno; and Luciente I, Balingasay and Poblacion in Bolinao.
The packs making up the batch found in Dacap Sur are marked mostly with foreign characters, with just one English line that reads “Freeze-Dried Durian.”
Message to syndicates
PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez said President Marcos had ordered the immediate destruction of the recovered illegal drugs.
“We are sending a clear message to transnational drug syndicates: our waters are no longer safe havens for their illegal operations. Do not dump poison into our coastal communities. We will hunt you down,” Nerez said in the PDEA statement.
Last week, the waters off the neighboring province of Zambales yielded 10 sacks of suspected shabu, which were found by fishermen from Masinloc town. /cb
