Nocppo to strengthen shoreline monitoring

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) here will intensify its security measures in shorelines, especially on motorized bancas.

This, after the seizure of P2.5 million worth of suspected shabu from four persons in a buy-bust inside a pension house in Binalbagan town over the weekend.

Police said the suspected shabu were transported from Cebu via San Carlos City port.

Police Colonel Romeo Baleros, Nocppo director, said in a regular press briefing Tuesday, that drug syndicates are resorting to different kinds of tactics to bring in illegal drugs to the province.

“They are taking advantage of the vast shoreline of the island,” he added.

Baleros said police cannot shield the whole island, though they have prevented the entry of contrabands in airports and seaports.

He said they also need to focus patrol and monitoring operations in shorelines as private boats and fishing vessels are used to transport illegal drugs here.

He said he will deploy K9 narcotics-sniffing dogs in commercial and private ports.

He said he will also coordinate with barangay officials to account all registered motorized bancas in their respective villages so that unregistered boats can be subjected for intensive inspection.

“But since this is a lucrative business, kung anong ginagawa namin, may counter measures din sila. Pinapasok nila ang mga maliliit na lugar since we are concentrating on big areas,” he said.

“We will exert all collective efforts to really paralyze the operations of illegal drugs in the island,” he said.