Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jun 2005
Source: People's Journal (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 People's Journal
Contact: http://www.journal.com.ph/contactus.asp
Website: http://www.journal.com.ph/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3381
Author: AFP and Miriam V. Torrecampo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Philippines

ALARM OVER ILLEGAL DRUGS SOUNDED

DRUG use and trafficking is growing alarmingly in the Philippines,
where it is now a P300 billion industry serving the rest of Southeast
Asia, a senior official said yesterday.

The country is also fast becoming a top transshipment point for drugs
in the region, especially methamphetamines, said Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency chief Anselmo Avenido.

About 3.4 million of the country's 84 million people are "more or less
hooked to drugs" and nearly half of these are regular users, he said.

There were just some 20,000 known drug dependents in the Philippines
in 1972 when the country passed its first drugs law and launched a
major crackdown on crime gangs, said Avenido.

Nevertheless, there have been successes in the past few years with
70,000 suspects arrested for drug-related offenses, he told a press
conference following International Anti-Drugs Day on Sunday.

Among those arrested was Chinese man Calvin Tan, accused of operating
an illegal drugs laboratory in Cebu which was raided last year.

The raid turned up 675 kilograms (1,485 lbs.) of the banned stimulant
methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as "ice" or "shabu," in what
was dubbed as the country's biggest drug bust.

Eleven other suspects -- a Briton, three Chinese, two Taiwanese, two
Malaysians and three Filipinos -- were arrested in the raid. Tan fled
the country but was later arrested in Hong Kong.

Avenido said Tan will soon be repatriated to the Philippines, where he
faces the death penalty if convicted.

But while there have been successes, Avenido said the public must
cooperate more to rid the country of the menace.

"We should, all of us, participate in the anti-drug campaign, because
if we just leave this campaign to the government, then there is just
very little we can do," he said. "We are still very far from our
common vision of a drug-free Philippines."

An annual report by the agency said shabu is smuggled into the
Philippines through sea and airports as well as through mail and
parcel services.

Authorities are now monitoring the activities of five transnational
drug syndicates and 130 local drug groups that manufacture shabu in
the country.

Their operation, according to Avenido has made the country a fast
becoming top transshipment point for drugs especially for shabu in the
Southeast Asian region.

He said the crime groups have been identified and mostly coming from
China and operating across Southeast Asia.

A PDEA report showed that two Chinese were arrested for trying to
smuggle nearly 300 kilograms of shabu from Laos in February 2004.

Avenido said that specific teams from different law enforcement
agencies have already been assigned to go after the five international
drug syndicates.

"What we do is we conduct periodically intelligence workshop not only
among PDEA personnel but intelligence personnel from the Philippine
National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the
Customs and the other agencies and we evaluate the status of this drug
personalities," Avenido told reporters.

"'Yung mga transnational syndicates may mga local contacts. Hindi sila
puwedeng on their own dahil ang lalabas noon ay poor quality ng shabu.
Dahil ang kailangan talaga 'yung mahusay magluto nito," he said.

The official said there are drug laboratories with a drug lord who
comes from mainland China with followers from Taiwan and there are lab
leaders from Taiwan whose followers come from China.

The PDEA chief said most chemicals used in the preparation of shabu
are imported from countries like mainland China and India, with major
chemical industries.

"The syndicates were able to get the chemicals using some diversion of
the legal shipments," Avenido disclosed.

He said laboratory equipment to manufacture shabu like hydrogenator is
smuggled into the country without being detected by Customs
authorities.

"Hindi kaya na inspeksyunin lahat ang dumadating na container vans,
selective lang kung anong information ang matanggap ng Customs. Kaya
malaki ang chance na may makalusot.

"Obviously ang mga shabu equipment na nakakapasok sa bansa nakalusot
sa Customs dahil nakita na natin diretso sa factory na eh. Ang mga
hydrogenerator hindi puwedeng i-procure locally," Avenido noted.

Avenido also noted the increasing use of Ketamine or Super K,
classified as dangerous drug, among drug users. It is a general
dissociative anesthetic for human and veterinary use.

"Ang Ketamine ginagamit sa mga hayop tulad ng kabayo at baka, kapag
mali ang gamit sa mga hayop, nasisiraan ng isip ang hayop, lalo na
kung tao ang gagamit noon.

It originally comes in liquid form and imported from India. Ketamine
hydrochloride is being abused by drug users by letting the water
evaporate using a rice cooker leaving only the powder form and snorted
like cocaine.

"Naging popular ito sa HK, 'pag ini-snort diretso sa utak. Mahal ito
ng konti sa shabu. P5,000 din ang per gram ng Ketamine in powder form.

PDEA confiscated in 2003 a total of 7,000 vials of Ketamine from its
importers.

"Ang category nito ay gamot so kahit sabi ng mga doctor ang
consumption sa isang malaking hospital sa Maynila ay 50 vials a month.
'Yung nahuli namin ay 7,000 vials obviously hindi ito gingamit as
gamot," AVenido said.

Avenido also pressed for drug demand reduction to address the rising
demand for illegal drugs. "Kung walang consumer patay ang drug business."

"All of us should participate in the anti-drug campaign, because if we
just leave this campaign to the government, then there is just very
little we can do. We are still very far from our common vision of a
drug-free Philippines," he said. 
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