A fisherman from Barangay Bagumbayan on Palawan’s west coast has turned over another package of suspected illegal drugs to authorities, marking the third such incident in recent weeks.
According to a report from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Mimaropa Regional Office, the package recovered from the waters of the West Philippine Sea contained an estimated 11 kilograms of suspected cocaine with a street value of around P56 million.
The discovery on Thursday came just a day after another group of fishermen surrendered a different package containing suspected high-grade marijuana or ‘kush.’ PDEA Palawan Provincial Officer Christopher Torres confirmed that the recovery was coordinated through the Western Command (Wescom) and turned over to his office for proper handling.
A composite team composed of PDEA-Palawan, the Western Naval Command, and the Palawan Police Provincial Office (PPPO)-Intelligence Unit went to Brgy. Bagumbayan to formally retrieve the suspected contraband.
Torres disclosed that the fisherman had actually recovered the package on Oct. 6, but only surrendered it to the Coast Guard Sub-Station Bagumbayan three days later, upon returning home. ‘We used a field test kit – a spectrometer – to conduct an initial test on the substance, and it turned out positive for cocaine,’ Torres said.
However, he emphasized that the result is still considered preliminary pending confirmatory laboratory testing in Manila.
‘Although we have the initial result, it remains classified as suspected cocaine until confirmed through further testing,’ he clarified.
Authorities are continuing their investigation in coordination with other involved agencies to determine the origin of the drugs and whether the recent recoveries are connected.