PDEA urged to watch drug traffic in hangars

Lawmakers have called on enforcement authorities to keep an eye on private hangers inasmuch  as they may be used by drug syndicates to transport illegal drugs.

Surigao del Norte  Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) should have presence in private hangers, citing stories that  some traffickers are using helicopters and planes to transport drugs.

“There’s this (Columbian drug lord) Pablo Escobar  story. He used planes to deliver drugs; at the moment, as we speak, PDEA has no presence in private hangars,” he said during the recent House Committee on Dangerous Drugs motu propio probe on the alleged involvement of transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers in the transport and delivery of illegal drugs.

The House panel probe was conducted following the arrest of Jovet Atillano y Trance, alias OJ, 32 years old, who hired services of TNVS drivers to deliver drugs.

Barbers said the enforcement agencies, particularly the PDEA should be proactive in running after the drug syndicates after the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) declared that the illegal drug orders via online is done through the “dark net.”

“Drug lords are becoming bolder and brighter. They are using the  internet. The chair proposed that there should be some sort of regulation or perhaps checking or control,” he said.

Atillano was arrested in a condominium unit in Mandaluyong City during a buy-bust operation conducted by agents of PDEA-Special Enforcement Service (PDEA-SES) on September 19, 2017.

According to PDEA investigation, Atillano hired the services of TNVS drivers in delivering illegal drugs concealed inside packages right at the doorsteps of his customers, making them unwitting couriers of illegal drugs.

PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino had urged TNVS drivers and operators to exercise due diligence to ensure that they will not be used to transport any contrabands.

The PDEA sought the aid of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and TNVS to put an end to this kind of drug smuggling.