Elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Northern Police District (NPD), and the Valenzuela Police, working with the City Government of Valenzuela, have apprehended a group of Filipino-Chinese nationals utilizing this city as a temporary transshipment point for their illegal drugs operations.

The manufacture and packaging of the more than 37 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) have been in operation for only three days when the raid was conducted in Barangay Lawang Bato at 9:00 this morning, with Mayor REX Gatchalian himself joining the raid.

It would have been impossible for the naked eye to see those illegal drugs, which were carefully hidden in the belly of legitimate pelletizing machines and brought into the warehouse in crates, had it not been for the cooperation of all the agencies involved led by the PDEA, NPD, Valenzuela Police, and the local government.

The suspects arrested during the raid were identified as Sonny Ang, 67, and Benito Tiuseco, 47.

Mayor REX emphasized that there is a no-tolerance policy for illegal drugs under his administration and vowed that the city government will continue to work with PDEA and the Philippine National Police to ensure that owners of all factories and warehouses operating in the city that use their legitimate operations as a front for their illegal drugs trade shall be apprehended and meted the full force of the law.

Mayor REX also said that since the drug syndicates are becoming more sophisticated in their illegal trade,  he is calling on the Bureau of Customs to intensify its inspections to ensure that illegal drugs are not brought into the country using legitimate machineries and equipment.