Pubdate: Fri, 20 May 2005 Source: Manila Times (Philippines) Copyright: 2005, The Manila Times Contact: http://www.manilatimes.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/921 Author: Anthony Vargas Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?158 (Club Drugs) PNP: ILLEGAL DRUG IMPORTS REDUCED BY 65 PERCENT THE Philippine National Police has reduced by as much as 65 percent the importation of illegal drugs, including shabu, in the country, Deputy Director General Ricardo de Leon announced on Thursday. De Leon, commander of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force, attributed the decrease to stronger operations against syndicates running shabu and ketamine laboratories in the country. "Our only problem now is reducing demand for illegal drugs. This is the reason the smallest unit of our society, the family, must be involved in the fight against drugs. The family must police and protect itself from the drug menace," de Leon said. He said his unit and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency are working with cause-oriented groups and the Chinese Filipino community to identify Chinese nationals suspected of involvement in the drug trade. "Most of the chemists or members of drug syndicates come from [Chinese communities]. There were also some Taiwanese and Malaysians, based on our records," de Leon said. On Monday, antinarcotic agents recovered 54 crates and six drums of chemicals used for the manufacture of shabu in a remote area in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. The police believed a drug syndicate abandoned the chemicals after the police raided a drug laboratory in Apo Street, Teresita Heights, Quezon City. The police seized P34-million worth of ketamine in the raid. - ---