Origin of 20 kilos of cocaine found in Samar being probed

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THE PNP has started an investigation to determine the source or origin of the 20 kilos of cocaine worth P111.85 million found by a fisherman off Eastern Samar last Friday.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo surmised the illegal drugs may have come from another country, using the Philippines as a transshipment point.

“As of now, we still don’t know the source of this (recovered cocaine) but this is not the first time cocaine was recovered there in Samar,” said Fajardo.

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“As to the source, we are still looking into it,” added Fajardo.

The drugs were found by fisherman Samuel Dalimpapas off Barangay Tangbo in Arteche town in Eastern Samar. The contraband was wrapped in two large plastic bags enclosed in a fish net.

Dalimpapas turned over the cocaine to local government officials, who turned over the drugs to the police.

In December 2009, some 139 kilos of cocaine were also found off Eastern Samar. Similar recoveries of cocaine were also reported in waters of other provinces.

In 2019, following the recovery of cocaine off Camarines Norte and Dinagat and Siargao islands, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the cocaine may have been left by drug syndicates to be discovered to divert the attention of authorities so the syndicates can smuggle larger quantities of shabu, the most popular drugs in the country.

Fajardo said there is a possibility the cocaine retrieved in Eastern Samar last Friday came from South America, noting investigations on past recoveries of cocaine in the country.

Fajardo said they are also looking at the possibility that the cocaine was being shipped to the Philippines as a transshipment point, and “not for local distribution.”

“The market for cocaine here in the Philippines is small. The No. 1 abused drug here is shabu,” said Fajardo.

Fajardo said the recovery of the cocaine means there is a need for the country to intensify international cooperation to fight illegal drugs.

“We need to intensify our international cooperation so that before they (illegal drugs) can enter our country, we will have interdiction (operations) in the high seas,” said Fajardo.

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