Authorities have arrested a total of 150 individuals in two-day simultaneous police operations in southern part of Metro Manila in line with the government’s crackdown against suspected drug dealers and other criminal elements in the country.
Southern Police District director Senior Supt. Eliseo Cruz said the latest operation conducted last Friday until dawn Saturday also resulted in the arrest of 44 persons allegedly engaged in drug dealing and its use, and 55 others who have standing warrants of arrest.
Seized from the drug suspects during buy-bust operations were 324 sachets of shabu worth P2.4 million, 97 sachets of marijuana worth P240,000, 33 firearms, and 16 bladed weapons.
“The most number of arrest was in Parañaque followed by Makati and Las Piñas. But the most number of applied search warrants and confiscated illegal drugs was in Taguig City,” said Cruz.
Cruz said the district-wide simultaneous police operation “seemingly gained a positive result which is projected to favorably contribute to the decline of crimes within the SPD area of responsibility.”
“This initiative is another example of how the PNP and its personnel maximizes its potential and exerts all efforts to reduce if not totally stop criminality in the SPD area of responsibility but the whole Metro Manila area,” said Cruz.
SPD spokesperson Jenny Tecson said National Capital Region Police director Guillermo Eleazar accompanied Cruz and other police officials in presenting the seized drugs, firearms and bladed weapons to members of the media at the SPD headquarters in Bicutan.
Tecson said the apprehended persons with standing warrant of arrests will be turned over to the court of origin while the others will be subjected to inquest proceedings and the recovered items will be brought to the respective stations for proper disposition.
“The operation was made possible through the concerted efforts of the different units of SPD on the ground in view of the current thrust of the NCRPO to step up efforts in the campaign against drug personalities, most wanted persons and all forms of criminality, focusing on quality outputs over quantity,” she said.
Meanwhile, Eleazar revealed that crime rates for the first ‘Ber’ month decreased by 20 percent compared to the monthly crime rates from January-August 2018.
He also reported a 22 percent decrease in all 8 focus crimes in NCR from January to August this year compared from the same period in 2017.
Eleazar said, “there will be no let up in the fight against illegal drugs and other crimes.”
The NCRPO is also conducting the anti-drug campaign dubbed “Operation Tokhang” in all community and villages in Metro Manila to promote awareness on illegal drugs and to convince suspected illegal drug personalities to submit themselves to the authorities.
Tokhang (toktok-hangyo or knock and plead) mandates police station commanders to ask the barangay captains to submit a list of residents known to be into illegal drugs, including pushers, dealers, users, and couriers.