DRUG LORDS USING MARINE VESSELS AS DRUG DEN?

THE Police office in Western Visayas is now verifying reports that
drug lords are now using marine vessels as their drug den in order to
hide their operation from and mislead the operatives.

There are reports that drug lords are now using marine vessels as
their hideout in selling drugs, most especially in Estancia.

However, Deputy Regional Director for Operations Isagani Cuevas said
Wednesday they have not yet received such report but vowed to verify
it and alerted their men in the said area.

"But, it's not far-fetched. It could be possible because seaports now
serve as the entry points of drugs, especially here in the northern
Iloilo. There are lots of ports in some towns," Cuevas said.

"All entry and exit points are now being monitored and we are
coordinating with other monitoring arms of the government," he added.

Cuevas admitted that drugs easily enter the area because of the
roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) trips "because our police are using the plain
view doctrine. We can't easily frisk a certain person for fear of
violating that person's rights."

"Unless we have positive information from our assets, we still we have
to follow rules," he added.

He said that all assets were intensified, being their force and
strength to gather information.

"We can't totally stop the proliferation of drugs because we are now
in the developing stage. We are asking for the support of the
community because we value their efforts in giving us information," he
added.

Marijuana

On the other hand, Cuevas said all their units are also alerted to
monitor their respective area for the presence of marijuana
plantations.

There's raw information that there are marijuana plantations in some
areas of Negros Occidental. The regional office urged police chiefs to
check their area of responsibility.

Metro Manila and Mindanao are still consistent sources of drugs but
the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (Pdea) is intensifying its
efforts to reduce drugs distribution in Western Visayas.

He claimed that drugs distribution in the region is very tolerable.