PDEA destroys over P4 billion worth of illegal drugs in Cavite

MANILA, Philippines — Approximately 724 kilograms of narcotics with an estimated worth of P4.51 billion were destroyed in Cavite on Thursday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported.

In a statement, PDEA said the illicit drugs, which were confiscated in various anti-drug operations conducted nationwide by PDEA agents and other law enforcement agencies operatives, were destroyed through thermal decomposition or thermolysis at the Integrated Waste Management, Inc. in Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires City, Cavite.

According to PDEA, thermal decomposition or thermolysis involves breaking down chemical compounds with tremendous heat.

READ: PDEA destroys almost P20-B worth of dangerous drugs

Among the destroyed narcotics were approximately 530 kilograms of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) seized by the National Bureau of Investigation in Mexico, Pampanga, in September last year.

Also included in the destruction were other dangerous drugs and controlled precursors and essential chemicals, such as over 535 kilograms of marijuana, over three kilograms of ecstasy, and over seven kilograms of cocaine.

READ: PDEA destroys nearly P6B worth of marijuana, ‘shabu’ in Cavite

PDEA Deputy Director General for Operations Assistant Secretary Renato Gumban led the destruction of the illicit drugs, along with representatives from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau, among others.