Twenty-five more drug suspects were killed in the latest police operations against illegal drugs, seven days before President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s formal swearing-in on June 30.
Statistics derived from the PNP’s Directorate for Intelligence and Investigation Management showed that the victims were killed in a span of four days as the police intensified their campaign against the illegal trade.
The latest figure brought to 93 the number of suspected drug dealers killed by law enforcers.
Of the 25 killed suspects, 20 were from the Calabarzon area covering the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, two each from Central Luzon and Central Visayas and one in Northern Mindanao.
The intensive police operations also netted 552 drug personalities during the same period with Calabarzon topping the list followed by National Capital Region and Central Luzon.
Since the increased illegal drugs operations commenced, not a single big-time foreign drug lord operating in the country has been neutralized or arrested.
So far, only one suspected drug lord from Cebu was slain. He was identified as Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz who was shot dead by policemen who also arrested his accomplice Alvaro “Baroc” Alvaro, a prominent drug dealer from Cebu with pending warrant of arrest.
The operations also include the killing of five drug dealers last Tuesday in separate operations in what was considered a drug haven in Cavite.
One of the slain suspects was identified as Jerry Abundo who fought it out with policemen during a buy-bust operations.
The suspects yielded .38 revolver and 45 pistol, plastic sachets of shabu and cash amounting to P700.
Incoming PNP director Chief Supt. Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa vowed to wage an aggressive campaign against illegal drugs personalities and eradicate the chemical substance immediately after Duterte has assumed office.
The intelligence community is also conducting an intensive surveillance on the movement of suspected big-time drug syndicates composed mostly of Chinese and other foreign nationals operating in the country.