Over P5B worth of illegal drugs destroyed in Cavite

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said it has destroyed dangerous drugs and controlled precursors and essential chemicals (CPECs) valued at P5.32 billion in Cavite province.

In a statement on Tuesday, PDEA said the destruction included 2,227.7584 kilograms of solid illegal drugs and 3,447.0920 milliliters of liquid narcotics. These were disposed of through thermal decomposition (thermolysis) at the Integrated Waste Management Inc. in Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires City.

Among the destroyed illegal substances were 38.2005 kg of shabu, 1,478.4915 kg of marijuana, 4.8668 kg of ecstasy, 39.2168 grams of cocaine, 2.2116 grams of toluene, 6.1516 grams of ketamine, 5.5100 grams of phenacetin, and 1.0400 gram of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide). Also destroyed were 2,000 ml of liquid cocaine, 49.0420 ml of liquid meth, 1,398.05 ml of liquid marijuana, and assorted surrendered expired medicines.

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Isagani Nerez emphasized that the drugs being destroyed were obtained through legal and official means and were eliminated in a way that guarantees they could never be used again.

"These are pieces of drug evidence confiscated during anti-drug operations by PDEA and other counterpart law enforcement agencies, including those turned over by authorities that were recently ordered by the court to be destroyed. Stacked inside a chamber, the dangerous drugs were burned beyond recovery,” Nerez noted.

Among the drugs destroyed were 404.9515 kilograms of shabu, which were seized by a joint operation involving PDEA, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) during an interdiction operation at the Port of Manila on 23 January this year.

Meanwhile, Nerez commended the Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) for their swift prosecution and resolution of drug cases, which enabled the timely destruction of the illegal substances.

He also stressed that the destruction process addresses concerns that seized drug evidence might be recycled.