DESTROYED. Officials hold bricks of cocaine before placing them in a crematorium in Palo, Leyte on Tuesday (March 26). A fisher found the PHP111.85 million worth of cocaine floating in the coastal waters of Eastern Samar province on March 8. (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Eastern Visayas on Tuesday destroyed through burning PHP117 million worth of cocaine and shabu, some of which were recovered recently in the coastal waters of Eastern Samar province.
PDEA assistant regional director Alex Tablete and Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 8 Director Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Pawid led the destruction of the illegal drugs in a crematorium in Palo town.
It was witnessed by representatives from the National Prosecution Service and Tacloban City Prosecutor’s Office, civil society groups, the media, and officials from the provincial government.
Aside from the 20 bricks of cocaine weighing more than 21 kilos with an estimated value of PHP111.85, authorities also destroyed 924 grams of shabu worth PHP6 million, 600 grams of marijuana with a value of PHP72,000, and expired medicines worth PHP166,000.
Tablete told reporters that the original plan was to burn the illegal drugs on March 22, or within 24 hours after the issuance of the court resolution to destroy.
However, the crematorium was unavailable.
A fisher from Arteche town found the 20 bricks of cocaine wrapped in plastic floating in the coastal waters of Arteche town on March 8.
Before the destruction of the illegal drugs, the PDEA conducted in the morning a profiling of the substance at its regional office in Palo town.
The substances, before destruction, undergo an inventory, followed by an examination conducted by chemists from the PDEA regional office and the PNP regional forensic unit in the presence of witnesses to determine that the subjects for destruction are indeed illegal. (PNA)
