Philippine Police Arrest 50 Drug Dealers in Metro Manila

Philippine police arrest 50 drug dealers in Metro Manila

MANILA, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — Philippine police Friday arrested 50 suspected drug dealers in a raid on an illegal drug market in Pasig City east of Manila, said police.

Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force launched a raid of a “wet market”, a local term for black market, for methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu in Pasig City.

Police director Marcelo Ele told Xinhua they are still accounting the quantity and value of the illegal drugs seized from the shanties at the village of Sto Tomas which they swooped down at around 11:30 a.m.

“This is a talipapa [wet market] for shabu. This is where the buyers go,” Ele said, adding that the 50 “stall owners” who were arrested in the raid were brought to the PNP headquarters of Camp Crame in Quezon City.

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao is expected to inspect the site of the raid, the first major feat of the task force this year.

Last year, billions of pesos worth of illegal drugs were seized by the task force in the government’s continuing fight against illegal drugs.