BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (September 23)—With the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic limiting commerce and movement of people, pushers sell illegal drugs over the internet using social media platforms, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).
PDEA Region 2 Director Joel Plaza said the pandemic coupled with stringent checkpoints in provincial boundaries might have slowed down the supply of illegal drugs such as crystal methamphetamine, known as shabu, but drug pushers found a way to continue their illegal-drug trading activities through social media applications.
The PDEA noted that while shabu has decreased, marijuana supply has increased.
It said there had been more than 1,000 kilograms of dried leaves confiscated worth P5.5 million, 1.12 million fully grown plants uprooted worth P225 million and five grams of marijuana seeds and 2,500 seedlings of marijuana seized in the region since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Plaza also noted that since the pandemic struck in mid-March, the PDEA in Cagayan Valley has conducted at least 269 operations in which 161.65 grams of shabu worth P917,000 were seized by authorities.
“The supply of shabu mainly from Metro Manila has decreased since the implementation of community quarantines and installation of checkpoints in almost all boundaries and yet drug pushers use different social media applications like Facebook Messenger in their trading activities,” he said.
The illegal drugs, Plaza added, are also now delivered by courier companies while payments are transferred through wireless money transfer or online banking.
“Still some are using private and public utility vehicles as well as motorbikes when they do their illegal transactions,” he said.
There were also 66 high-value targets arrested in the first quarter of this year, including a foreigner and 14 government employees, Plaza added.
“The increase in marijuana interceptions was due to the stiffer municipal and regional checkpoints that limit inter-regional transport and distribution of the illegal items,” according to Plaza.
The online marketing of illegal drugs is now the focus of the agency in addition to street drug trading as well as other modes of transporting the contraband, he said.