DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has tagged Dagupan and Urdaneta cities as transshipment points of illegal drugs in Region 1.
During the signing of a memorandum of agreement with various sectors to strengthen the fight against illegal drugs here, Edgar Apalla told journalists it is in the two cities where drugs from Metro Manila, Cavite, Bulacan and Camiling in Tarlac are brought for distribution to nearby towns of Pangasinan, Baguio City and Ilocos Norte.
Apalla said they have also identified certain drug personalities, but could not just arrest them, citing ”some technicalities.”
Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim, however, said his city is not a transshipment point but “a dropoff point.”
“It means they (drug traffickers) have customers here and from Dagupan. The drugs were distributed to other towns,” Lim said.
“We are warning traffickers and suppliers to go slow because we are watching you,” Lim added.
He also warned law enforcement officers in cahoots with illegal drug syndicates.
Lim said law enforcers are likewise monitoring the activities of around 72 suspected drug pushers, who are in the list provided by city police chief Superintendent Romeo Caramat Jr.
“In the next few days, we would undertake steps to slowly solve this problem,” he said. “I am dead serious about this. I want to see our city drug-free but I cannot do it alone.” - By Eva Visperas
