Shabu worth P7.58-M found in Laoag shoreline

LAOAG CITY: Illegal drugs worth PHP7 million were recovered along the shoreline of this Ilocos Norte capital, the local police said on Friday. Col. Andrew Rabang, city police chief, said a light blue plastic pack with Chinese markings containing white crystalline substance was turned over to the Ilocos Norte Provincial Forensic Unit by locals on Thursday. The substance was later confirmed to be shabu. "The item weighs 1,115.66 grams with a standard drug price of PHP7,586,488,' he said. Barangay La Paz tanod (peacekeeping officer) Fragante Felix Patoc Jr., also a fisherman, was collecting driftwood along the shoreline when he saw a plastic package that he initially thought was a pack of noodles. 'Out of curiosity, I partially opened the plastic pack and saw a white substance. I then showed it to a fellow barangay tanod and together, we reported it to village officials,' Patoc said in a local radio interview. Similar packs of shabu were found in the coastal waters of Pasuquin, Burgos, and Pagudpud in Iloco s Norte, and the waters of Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan between July 8 and 19. With the strong winds and heavy rains brought by Typhoon Carina, local authorities said they are on the lookout for other items that could still be washed ashore. Meanwhile, a series of drug buy-bust by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in collaboration and the Ilocos Norte police from July 9 to 22 led to the arrest of two high-value drug suspects from Hagonoy, Bulacan and Claveria, Cagayan, who are temporary residing in Bacarra and this city; and eight street-level drug suspects, including a cook and painter from Bacarra, a driver from Bangui, and a former drug surrenderee from Pagudpud among others. The standard drug price of the shabu seized from the suspects was PHP127,840. Source: Philippines News Agency