The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO) confiscated nearly PHP23 million worth of suspected shabu during intensified anti-illegal drug operations in the first half of 2026, a police official said Monday, June 29.
NOrPPO spokesperson, Capt. Stephen Jaynard Polinar, said police conducted 290 anti-drug operations across the province from Jan. 1 to June 29, resulting in the arrest of 301 individuals.
Of those arrested, 35 were classified as high-value targets, 264 as street-level individuals and two were not included in the police roster of drug personalities.
The operations led to the seizure of more than 3,249 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated standard drug price of PHP22.78 million, Polinar said.
The largest drug haul was recorded in Zamboanguita town, where authorities confiscated about 1 kilogram of suspected shabu worth approximately PHP6.7 million and arrested a high-value target. The latest big haul was in Valencia on June 18, with the confiscation of suspected shabu worth at around PHP3.4 million.
Aside from shabu, police also seized 53 grams of dried marijuana leaves and uprooted 3,015 marijuana plants with an estimated value of more than PHP609,000.
Polinar said the marijuana plants were discovered and destroyed in mountainous areas of Bayawan City during patrol operations by police units assigned to hinterland communities.
“Bayawan City has plenty of untitled land in the mountains where marijuana is being cultivated. No suspects have been identified as owners because of the remoteness of the areas,” he said.
He added that authorities continue to intensify patrols and anti-drug operations to prevent the cultivation and distribution of illegal drugs in the province.*PNA
[sibwp_form id=1]