BUTUAN CITY – Sixteen more bricks of suspected cocaine worth more than P106 million were found by a fisherman Tuesday night floating in the waters of Surigao del Sur province.
In an initial report received by Northeastern Mindanao Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) Regional Director P/Brig. Gen. Gilberto DC Cruz here on Wednesday, Surigao del Sur Police Provincial Office (PPO) and Lingig Police identified the fisherman as Jolan Pucot, 25, a resident of Purok 2, Barangay Handamayan.
Pucot was walking along the seashore of Handamayan on Tuesday when he noticed the floating bricks wrapped in transparent cellophane and black rubber. The fisherman turned over the 16 bricks of suspected cocaine to Lingig MPS, P/Lt. Col. Christian L. Rafols II, chief of PRO 13 Regional Public Information Office (RPIO) said.
More bricks of suspected cocaine were found by a villager along the seashore of Barangay Quezon, Libjo, Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI), a belated report reaching the police regional headquarters here late Tuesday afternoon also said.
Brig. Gen. Cruz said that through the command’s massive information drive, more bricks of suspected cocaine were reported by villagers in the region.
Initial report forwarded to the regional command and action center of PRO 13 based here disclosed that on April 28, 2019 at about 6 p.m., Felix Miasco, a villager of Barangay Quezon of that same town was walking at the seashore when he noticed two bricks of suspected cocaine.
Out of curiosity, Miasco opened one of the bricks and found white cocaine-like substance inside.
“Upon discovery, he immediately informed barangay (village) officials about the discovery and turned over the said items to them,” the initial flash report of Libjo Municipal Police Station stated.
Police authorities in Libjo estimated that the bricks are worth P5.3 million.
A total of eight bricks of suspected cocaine were also recovered on April 24 by fishermen and reported to Caraga police in Sitio Dahican, Barangay Helen, Gibosong Islands, in the municipality of Loreto, Dinagat Islands. Last April 17, a fisherman of Purok 1, Barangay Abad Santos, Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte informed local police about a suspected brick of cocaine that he found while fishing, a rectangular object wrapped in black cellophane. (Mike Crismundo)