(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Feb. 20, said international drug cartels were behind the blocks of cocaine recently found floating in some of the country’s waters.
“The news that you hear every day about the floating drugs all around the country is that really we have confirmed that (Sinaloa) and the Medellin cartels are in the trade now. And it’s cocaine. It has always been cocaine from Mexico,” Duterte said.
Earlier, PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde said the blocks of cocaine fished out from the waters off Camarines Norte and Dinagat Islands may have been intended for foreign markets but accidentally found themselves in the country’s waters.
He said another possibility was that the blocks–then amounting to 92.7 kilograms in weight– were intentionally dropped in two points in the country’s waters so they could be recovered by international drug syndicates.
He noted the country was a known drug transshipment point for Asia and Europe.