Ilocos police seize P1.36 billion in illegal drugs

The Ilocos Region, through the Police Regional Office-1, seized P1.36 billion worth of illegal drugs, primarily shabu and marijuana, from January 1 to August 2 this year.

A significant portion of the confiscated contraband, amounting to P751 million, consisted of 110 kilos of shabu discovered by fishermen floating in the West Philippine Sea off Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Pangasinan.

The remaining drugs, comprising 89,796 grams of shabu and 37,083 grams of marijuana, were seized through buy-bust operations, search warrants, and checkpoints.

These intensified operations led to the arrest of 720 suspected drug pushers with no reported casualties.

Investigations indicate that the floating shabu originated from Myanmar and was submerged using nylon ropes, which likely broke due to heavy rainfall, causing the packs to spread out.

As of July 31, a total of 2,660 out of 2,929 drug-affected barangays in the Ilocos region have been declared cleared.