Random Thoughts

From shabu to cocaine?

By Leonardo Micua

REMEMBER the time when several containers of shabu were washed ashore in Barangay Cato, Infanta and when lawmen investigated this, they found more containers loaded with high -grade shabu floating offshore?

This happened during the incumbency of President Joseph Estrada and his chief PNP was Panfilo Lacson. I think the PNP provincial director that time was Senior Supt. Joel Goltiao.

There were reports that the containers believed to have come from China were originally consigned to Bolinao to be retrieved by hired fishermen but the unidentified foreign vessel that dropped the hot cargo miscalculated its target, and offloaded instead in the waters of Infanta, the last town of Pangasinan to the south.

We lost sight of the story after these were all brought to Manila under tight guard by the police. 

The same scenario appears to be happening again but in different locations, east of the Philippines. But this time, the containers that had bricks of cocaine in large volumes estimated to have nearly one billion pesos in street value. So far, bricks of cocaine were fished out or washed ashore in 12 different locations.

This is quite alarming especially after no less than President Duterte confirmed that the tentacles of Columbia’s Medellin drug cartel may already be operating here. This is certainly a big blow to the still unfinished war on drugs of Mr. Duterte.

Surely, this flood of Columbian cocaine–if true– would create more havoc to the country. It will create more narco-politicians, drug pushers and dealers and drug dependents in our communities. If this cannot be stopped, it will be a matter of time before we become a narco-state.

Why are foreign drug cartels making the Philippines as their favorite dumping ground for their hot stuff? Foremost reason is the fact that our navy and coast guard are unable to patrol effectively our long coastline from north to south and east to west.

There is also PDEA’s suspicion that the off-loaded cocaine shipment in Philippine waters may have been consigned to other countries like Australia and Hong Kong because the cartel is aware that our drug users don’t use cocaine but crystal meth or shabu, the poor man’s cocaine. 

The PDEA is also looking into the possibility that the discovered bricks of cocaine were actually a decoy for the bigger shipment that may have already slipped into any shore in the country.

Be that as it may, Philippines could very well become a transshipment point for cocaine and other illegal drugs in Asia.

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The accident that happened along the De Venecia Expressway late afternoon on Sunday was a top conversation topic in many radio stations last week. Why?

It is because, the Toyota High-Ace van which collided head on with a motorized tricycle where four of the six persons involved died and two seriously injured and still in coma, is reportedly owned by Magic. The police, however, reported the van was registered in the name of Universal Aquarius Inc. We don’t know if there is any connection between Universal Aquarius, Inc. and Magic but some think so.

The commentators of one radio station insinuated that a VIP and his friend were in that van when the accident happened but hastily boarded a backup vehicle to obviously escape identification. The commentator of another radio station dismissed the claim that the VIP and his friend were on board and instead simply blamed the authorities for allowing motorcycles to traverse along the highway.

The social media was also abuzz with reports and suspicions from netizens that two persons hastily escaped after the accident, leaving only their driver to account for the accident.

But whatever is the truth, the victims need justice and their family needs urgent help. 

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