Drug users in the Philippines consume at least three tons of shabu every week, the reason why illegal drugs syndicates continue to operate in the country despite the aggressive and brutal drug war waged by the Duterte administration.
And that is translated to a weekly P25 billion business for illegal drugs syndicates in the Philippines alone, according to Col. Romeo Caramat Jr., director of the Philippine National Police-Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG).
“The drug syndicates will not easily give up this kind of business because it’s a big industry,” said Caramat in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City where the almost 400 kilos of shabu seized in Makati and Las Pinas City were presented to the media.
The official came up with the estimate based on the assumption that there are three million drug users in the country.
“In 2002, 10 percent of our population in the country are affected by drugs so safe or modest estimate if we have three million users in our country, the minimum supply demand of drugs is three tons per week, 3,000 kilos per week,” explained Caramat.
Police on Tuesday confiscated 371 kilos of shabu in an apartment in Makati City which is being rented by a Chinese national. Police said the arrested is a designated keeper of the smuggled shabu.
The following day, two couriers of the arrested Chinese were collared in a separate buy-bust in Las Pinas City. Seized from them were 17 kilos of shabu.
Caramat said the confiscated illegal drugs were set to be distributed not only in Metro Manila but also as far as the Visayas regions, based on the persons they arrested connected to the same syndicate.
The official said the confiscated drugs appear to be not part of the tons of shabu that were smuggled into the country through the Bureau of Customs and using magnetic lifters as a front.
“The requirement consumption is three tons per week so very obvious this is not part of the magnetic lifters,” said Caramat.
Officials, however, would not disclose the country of origin and the name of syndicate involved in the smuggling of the newly-confiscated illegal drugs.
They said revelation could burn the ongoing operations being conducted.
But based on the explanations of police officials, the shabu supplies are all smuggled from other countries.
“It’s coming from outside of the Philippines but as of yet we cannot divulge where because we are trying to thresh out details on this for subsequent follow-up operations,” said Gamboa.
After tons of shabu are smuggled into the country, the illegal drugs were then distributed mostly from Metro Manila and CALABARZON (Cavite, Lagunas, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) areas.
Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said that one of the main distribution targets of shabu from Metro Manila and CALABARZON is Central Visayas.
“One of the downlines is Central Visayas because whenever we confiscate there, we conduct background check as to the source and since there is no local manufacturing there, all of the drugs therefore are from Luzon and CALABARZON,” said Sinas who used to be the director of Central Visayas regional police. (Aaron Recuenco)