305 BRGYS IN REGION 6 AFFECTED BY DRUGS - PNP

The Police Regional Office 6 reported recently that 305 of the 4,058
barangays in Western Visayas are seriously affected by the drug menace.

Of the 305 drug-affected barangays, 31 are in Negros Occidental, the police
said.

Two-hundred-forty barangays were classified as seriously affected while 65
others are threatened by the drug menace, Senior Supt. Isagani Cuevas, PRO
6 Operations chief, said in his report to Western Visayas police director
Rolando Garcia.

The supply of shabu and marijuana was traced by the police to Manila, Cebu
and Mindanao with the cities of Bacolod, San Carlos, Dumaguete as reported
entry points in Negros.

Cuevas also claimed to have neutralized 12 organized crime groups in
provinces of Iloilo, Antique and Aklan since last year.

In the first five months of 2002, the Bacolod City Police Office registered
the highest volume of confiscated drugs by seizing 900 grams of suspected
shabu, worth P1.7 million, police reports said.

In the same period, the police in Western Visayas reported that it had
arrested 355 drug peddlers in 276 operations.

Cuevas also reported that 31 illegal gambling financiers are operating in
Region 6, with two in Bacolod City, 19 in Iloilo province and five in
Iloilo City, five also in Aklan, two in Capiz and one in Guimaras.

Illegal gambling outfits in Negros Occidental have codenames like Camia, JJ
Queen, Silver and Pagcor.

The Department of Interior and Local Government warned that it may strip
mayors of administrative supervision over the police if they fail to
eradicate illegal gambling operations in their areas.

After the closure of the jai-alai fronton in Metro Manila, PNP provincial
director Geary Barias claimed a 75 percent reduction of illegal gambling
operations in Negros Occidental.