Police seized more equipment and materials believed to be used in the manufacture of illegal drugs during a follow-up operation in Looc, Occidental Mindoro, days after authorities dismantled a suspected clandestine drug laboratory in the same area.
The Philippine National Police (PNP)said the operation on Friday, May 29, led to the arrest of Lupito Ramirez, 63 years old, and Agustina Plaza, 51 years old, in Barangay Bulacan.
The raid was conducted as a follow-up to the May 26 operation by the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, which uncovered a suspected drug laboratory in the remote island village.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. commended police personnel for locating the facility despite the area’s difficult terrain and limited communication access.
“I commend our personnel for a job well done in locating this area despite being on a remote island. This is clear proof of good intelligence-gathering and a conduct of strategic operation,” Nartatez said.
Looc is part of the Lubang Island group off the northwestern coast of Occidental Mindoro, where some villages can only be reached by boat.
Nartatez, however, ordered investigators to expand the probe, saying initial indications showed the two arrested suspects may have only served as caretakers of the equipment and materials.
“But the operation will not end in the dismantling of this illegal drugs laboratory. We have to identify those people behind this and determine if there are other similar facilities in any part of the country,” he said.
The follow-up operation was carried out through a search warrant issued by Judge Ulysses Delgado of the Regional Trial Court Branch 44 in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.
Police said the search warrant allowed authorities to conduct a wider search of the property after the earlier discovery of the suspected drug facility. The follow-up inspection led to the recovery of additional materials and equipment inside the property owned by the couple.
Authorities said the suspects were informed of their constitutional rights in a language they understood. Police also used a body-worn camera and an alternative recording device during the operation.
Nartatez said investigators are now questioning the suspects to determine how the equipment and materials ended up on their property.
The arrested suspects were placed under the temporary custody of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group for documentation, while police continue to inventory all confiscated items from the suspected clandestine drug laboratory.