Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 16) – There are still missing illegal drugs from the shabu haul worth ₱6.7 billion seized from an arrested police sergeant last October, the Philippine National Police (PNP) admitted.
“990 (kilograms), plus 42 (kgs seized afterwards), plus (the missing drugs), yun ang X,” PNP-Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (PNP-DIDM) Director PMGen. Eliseo Cruz told the media during a press conference on Sunday.
Last Oct. 8, 2022, the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) led an anti-illegal drug operation on a lending office owned by Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo in Tondo, Manila. This led to the seizure of 990 kgs of shabu valued at ₱6.7 billion and Mayo’s arrest.
A week later on Oct. 15, 2022, another 42 kgs of shabu from the Tondo haul valued at ₱285,600,000 was recovered from two police officers who supposedly kept it from the first operation.
According to Cruz, the shabu haul that has been accounted for weighs about 1,032 kgs -– just over one metric ton (1,000 kgs) -– and could be close to ₱7 billion in value.
When asked for an estimate on the amount of missing shabu, Cruz said, “I cannot comment on that if we are just depending on the movement in the CCTV video on how many loading and the size of what was loaded. But we are sure that there are still missing illegal drugs.”
CCTV footage from the Oct. 8 raid showed PDEG personnel loading several bags into a sedan owned by a police officer. It also showed Mayo’s arrest, and how he was handcuffed and uncuffed several times throughout the video.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said that the footage contradicted the scenarios described in the PNP’s reports.
He claimed that 11 ranking police officials and three personnel had made a “massive attempt” to cover up the arrest of Mayo and called on those involved to file for leave.
Meanwhile, the PNP is set to file criminal and administrative charges against 49 police officers linked to the shabu haul and the alleged cover-up.
