CAVITE—The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) today (Friday, October 20, 2023), destroyed ₱5,968,744,462.01 worth of dangerous drugs and other substances at the Integrated Waste Management, Inc. (IWMI), Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires City, Cavite.
These include the prompt destruction of 274 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, that were seized at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) on October 6, 2023; and the 208 kilograms of Dimethyl Sulfone, a shabu extender that was recovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Mabalacat, Pampanga on August 25, 2023.
The destroyed stockpile of illegal drugs had a total weight of 1,019,204.7581 grams. Majority of the illegal drugs destroyed were 471,478.0639 grams of shabu, 312,993.9424 grams of Marijuana, and 208,909.00 grams of Dimethyl Sulfone.
The pieces of drug evidence were destroyed through thermal decomposition or thermolysis. Exposed to temperatures of over 1,000 degrees centigrade, all dangerous drugs were completely decomposed or broken down and are impossible to reconstitute.
The burnt dangerous drugs comprised the evidence seized from various anti-drug operations conducted by PDEA, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP), NBI, and other counterpart law enforcement and military units, but were no longer needed as evidence in court. The expeditious prosecution and disposition of drug cases where said drugs served as evidence, led to its immediate destruction.
Representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ); the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); local officials of Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires City; representatives from the PNP and the NBI; non-government organizations (NGOs); and media partners joined key PDEA officials in witnessing the destruction activity.
Seven months ago, PDEA orchestrated the destruction of ₱19.9 billion- or 3.7 tons worth of dangerous drugs in Cavite. The destruction was billed as an unprecedented event, making it the largest in terms of volume and value in the country’s history of drug law. MARGIE BAUTISTA
