BACOLOD CITY – Arrested pushers outnumbered nabbed users, buy-bust operations more than doubled last year, four persons were killed, more than 3,000 cases filed, and at least P126 million worth of shabu seized.
This is the top view of Operation Plan Double Barrel, the government’s anti-drug campaign implemented since 2016 when President Duterte assumed office in Malacañang.
Data analyzed by DNX based on the 2017, 2018 and 2019 comprehensive anti-illegal drugs reports of the police here showed an increasing pattern of drugs seized by authorities from year to year with the number of alleged arrested pushers more than doubling, from 275 in 2017 to 601 in last year.
But there is an increasing number, too, of nabbed suspected users that increased by 30 percent in three years, from 258 to 340.
The reports were based on anti drug operations conducted by 12 police units – 10 geographical stations, the City Drug Enforcement Unit, and the Mobile Force Company.
The operations were sorted into the following: plain view, search warrant, warrant of arrest, buy-bust, checkpoint, police response, and incidental to lawful arrest.
These refer to the means that led to the arrest of the suspects and the seizure of the alleged illegal drugs.
Drugs confiscated were classified into shabu, marijuana, and others, with shabu confiscated growing by almost 300 percent – from 1,586.975 grams or more than 1.5 kilos in 2017 to 6,083.026 or more than six kilos in 2019.
Marijuana confiscation, meanwhile, dropped from 212.56 grams in 2017, rose to more than 280 grams in 2018, and fell to 153 grams in 2019 or a negative 28 percent drop.
The police also reported 2,153 “neutralized drug personalities” who were classified into pushers, users, and minors.
Over the three-year period, police reported a breakdown of 1,321 pushers, and 793 for users, and a total of 39 minors.
The reports added up to only four people killed.
The police has also reported the filing of 3,707 cases against the suspects they have arrested.
