GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 5 Oct) – Personnel of the South Cotabato Rehabilitation and Detention Center or provincial jail foiled on Tuesday another attempt by unidentified persons to sneak in illegal drugs at the facility.
Lory Celeste, acting provincial jail warden, said their guards intercepted past 11 a.m. a plastic package containing suspected shabu that was thrown from outside the high fenced facility.
He said the package, which was covered in paper and tied to a stone, contained six sachets of shabu.
“Our guards saw the package as it was thrown inside and immediately seized it,” Celeste said in a radio interview.
The official said they checked the footage of the security cameras installed at the jail’s perimeter fence but it failed to capture the throwing.
But reports said a person aboard a motorcycle was seen stopping by the area where the package was believed thrown and hastily left the scene.
Celeste said the incident was not the first time at the facility and they also intercepted various illegal drugs in the past months.
He said an informant disclosed that some shabu supplies were recently sneaked into the facility but only got wet, prompting them to conduct random drug tests among the inmates.
Two of the five inmates tested on Monday turned out positive for shabu while another was added to the list among the 15 inmates screened on Tuesday, he said.
“The testing will continue while we investigate these incidents,” Celeste said.
He said they already turned over the seized shabu to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for proper examination and valuation.
Celeste said the PDEA-Region 12, through its South Cotabato provincial office, has been assisting them in addressing the problem through random testing and surprise inspections. (MindaNews)