Pubdate: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 Source: Philippine Star (Philippines) Copyright: PhilSTAR Daily Inc. 2005 Contact: http://www.philstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/622 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Philippines EDITORIAL - GOING MOBILE Jueteng operators have long resorted to "kangaroo-style" mobile operations during government crackdowns. Why not drug dealers? A report published yesterday said drug traffickers have started manufacturing prohibited drugs particularly shabu in laboratories set up on ships and in trailer trucks. Naturally the mobile laboratories are harder to detect, especially when drug dealers have on their payroll anti-narcotics agents who can tip them off about police surveillance and an impending drug bust. There have been reports in the past of illegal drugs being unloaded from ships anchored offshore and smuggled through the country's coastal areas. Efforts to stop the operations were stymied by the lack of patrol vessels and personnel as well as corruption. In certain areas, local government and police officials are themselves suspected to be directly involved in drug trafficking activities. These same problems will hobble efforts to crack down on the mobile drug laboratories. Law enforcers lack not only ships and patrol cars to conduct surveillance operations, but even funds for gasoline and other basic operational expenses. The archipelago has one of the most extensive coastlines in the world. Patrolled by poorly equipped military and police forces, the country's borders are among the most porous in the region, providing sanctuary to all types of crooks, from drug dealers to smugglers and terrorists. With illegal drug manufacturers going mobile in their operations, anti-narcotics agents can at best go after the middlemen in charge of distributing prohibited drugs in the streets. To reduce their risks, however, drug traffickers may simply opt to send their finished products overseas, turning the country into an export processing zone for prohibited drugs, just as certain parts of Mindanao are turning into training centers for international terrorists. This sorry state of affairs isn't going to change until law enforcement agencies are given more resources to deal with the drug menace. Law enforcers have a long wait ahead. - ---