Pubdate: Thu, 01 Jan 2004 Source: Manila Bulletin (The Philippines) Contact: http://www.mb.com.ph/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/906 Author: Mars W. Mosqueda Jr. POLICE ENFORCES TIGHTER SECURITY, MONITORING IN CEBU VS ILLEGAL DRUGS CEBU CITY - The police here said it will monitor various land, water, and air transports coming into Cebu for possible drug smuggling as authorities tightened their watch following reports of a possible drug laboratory operating here. The Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 says it is continuously monitoring several areas in Cebu to verify reports that a shabu laboratory has already been set up here to provide illegal drugs to cities and towns in the Visayas and Mindanao. PRO 7 deputy director for administration Julio Augusto, however, clarified that they still have not seen a clear indication that a shabu laboratory has indeed been operating in Cebu. He admitted that the information his office has received were raw and needed to be verified. Augusto said that two places in Cebu were last monitored after reports of suspicious activities in those areas. He also said that islands privately owned by businessmen will also be monitored. Reports of a possible drug laboratory in Cebu continues to fly thick and thin in this city and elsewhere in Cebu province due to the continuous supply of shabu despite the intensified campaign against illegal drugs. The reports became even more terrifying when stories emanating from other sources indicated that the Philippines has now been tagged as an export base for illegal drugs. These raw reports has sent shivers down the spine of authorities, who said they are checking and counterchecking to determine whether these stories are correct. Frequent discoveries of drug laboratories, lately confined to Luzon, have led anti-drug crusaders to believe that some international syndicates with global connections are now operating in the country not only for the benefit of local drug dependents but also for their clients overseas. Aside from monitoring the many places here to locate the alleged drug laboratory, Augusto said the police will also check different entry and exit points for land, sea, and air transportation. They are concerned that Cebu could be transformed into a transshipment point for shabu. He also said that his men have been monitoring a ship that anchors at the Cebu port every month for possibility that the vessel could be used to smuggle drugs here. He said his office has been receiving reports that several ships have allegedly dropped cargoes of shabu into the waters off Cebu. In line with this, the Cebu City Bantay Dagat Foundation has suggested the creation of a task force that will monitor shipments of various cargoes to Cebu for possibility that these may be used as front to smuggle drugs. As this developed, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 7 has also formally submitted its request to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the region for a copy of the budget report of various local government units (LGUs) here to check the amount they set aside for the campaign against illegal drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman