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A Chinese national was arrested on Wednesday while 575 kilograms of shabu worth P4 billion was confiscated by authorities in a “warehouse” in Bagiuo City, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said.

Arrested was Ming Hui, alias Tan, 51, and a resident of Barangay Irisan, Baguio City.

The operation was conducted by different law enforcement agencies including the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU) of the Cordillera police, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Abalos said this raid is part of the Marcos administration’s version of the war on drugs, which started during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.

“This (shabu) will be distributed to different locations so what will happen is that the whole country will be affected. That’s why the focus of the government under our beloved President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is the war on drugs, and this is how we will carry out the war on drugs, by joining forces,” Abalos said during a press briefing.

Asked why the drug syndicates chose Baguio City as a location, he responded: “Well we cannot really tell. It's part of the investigation but maybe they have strategic locations for certain areas. This is one of the angles we are looking at. We cannot say if this is close to the factory, or if this is near the place where they are being delivered.”

“If you recall we were able to seize 900 kilos in Manila in October last. Now, this is close to 575 kilos, worth P4 billion so by joining forces larger (volumes of illegal drugs) are confiscated. So it’s likely that this is a storage area,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS