The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will be deploying 110 newly trained anti-illegal drugs agents in seaports across the country to intensify the government’s campaign against smuggling of narcotics into the country. PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said that the 110 PDEA operatives will be deployed to monitor 13 key seaports and 1,200 private seaports nationwide to monitor cargoes entering the country. “(They) will also sit beside x-ray technicians of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to help in the detection of smuggled illegal drugs,” Aquino said in a statement on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENTAquino said the deployment would be a “big boost” in the government’s intensified anti-drug campaign, particularly in seaports where “bulk of illegal drugs” are passing through. “They will be our new eyes and ears against (illegal) drugs syndicates who take advantage of the country’s porous shoreline which serves as entry and exit points of illegal drugs,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 14, 2017 07:41 UTC