ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) have confiscated some PHP49 million worth of shabu here since January this year, an official said Thursday.
Mayor John Dalipe, chairperson of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), said the PDEA-9 report showed that the agency and the local police have conducted a total of 317 anti-drug operations in the last nine months, resulting in the arrest of 393 drug offenders.
“Effective intelligence and law enforcement were among the factors of the bulk of drug confiscations,” Dalipe said.
Col. Alexander Lorenzo, the ZCPO director, said all station chiefs have been directed to "relentlessly continue the anti-drug campaign," with the support of the PDEA.
Meanwhile, PDEA-9 that 16 of this city’s 98 barangays have been cleared of illegal drugs, while one was certified as unaffected.
There are 81 affected barangays, of which eight were seriously affected, 67 moderately affected, and six slightly affected.
Earlier this week, the CADAC approved an increase in the cash incentives for drug-cleared barangays from PHP50,000 to PHP100,000 to incentivize grassroots-based initiatives against illegal drugs. (PNA)
