168 IN RAID TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS

Some 168 people out of the 302 arrested in a drug den in Pasig City on
Friday have tested positive for shabu or marijuana use, police said
yesterday.

Senior Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil said the results of the PNP Crime Lab
tests dismayed PNP chief Arturo Lomibao. The tests indicated that at
least 20 of the 31 women and 11 minors arrested were positive for drug
use, he added.

Lomibao has ordered Metro Manila police chief Vidal Querol to look
into the raid and determine if local officials could be held liable.

On Friday, Lomibao sacked Chief Insp. Salvador de la Cruz, head of the
Police community precinct 20 in Pasig City, and six of his men and
ordered that they be investigated.

Chief Supt. Ernesto Belen, head of the PNP Crime Lab Services, said
those positive for the drug tests faced another "confirmatory drug
test."

An ordinary drug test cost P300 per person and a confirmatory drug
test P1,000 each, he added.

"As of today, we have subjected 302 persons to drug tests with 186 of
them being found positive for drug use," Belen said. "Out of 31
females, 20 were found positive for drug use while 11 of the 28 minors
also tested positive."

Police recovered 2 kg of shabu worth P4 million, two hand-guns, and
sacks of drug-user equipment including tooters, aluminum foils and
disposable lighters during the raid.

Police said the drug den on E. Serrano Street was in a squatters' area
and just a few blocks from the Pasig City Hall. It charged "customers"
P10 to P40 to be admitted and had at least 50 cubicles for those
wishing to "score."

Bataoil said a syndicate had been operating the den, using close
circuit TV monitors and armed security men.

Last Friday's bust prompted President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to
declare war on drugs. She ordered police to spare no one.

Police shut down 12 shabu laboratories last year and arrested more
than 20 people including foreigners.