Duterte: Shoot sellers of missing cocaine

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – With 8 bricks of high-grade cocaine still missing from the discovered cache in a container yard in this city, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, April 6, announced a “shoot-to-kill order” against anyone caught selling the illegal drugs who resist arrest.

Duterte explained that once the missing drugs are sold in the local market, those who hid the remaining bricks would be considered as drug lords. 

“I have a shoot-to-kill order, especially if they will resist arrest,” he said. 

The hidden stash of cocaine was discovered on March 22, hidden in the ceiling of a 40-footer container van meant for banana exports, inside the Sumifru container yard in Tibungco District. 

Twenty-four bricks were  initially recovered, and another 32 were recovered or surrendered after Duterte offered P100,000 for anyone who would turn over or provide information on the location of the missing drugs. 

The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) said earlier that the hidden compartment inside the container van was designed to fit 64 bricks with an estimated value of P126 million, but only 56 bricks have been recovered, so far. This means that 8 cocaine bricks are still unaccounted for.

Duterte said the reward money is still available and urged those with information to contact local authorities. 

In 2009, at least 16 kilograms of cocaine were found behind the cooling system of a container van in Sasa wharf, also in Davao City. The drugs were discovered after the refrigerating mechanism of the container van malfunctioned, the DCPO said. 

Initial investigations showed that the illegal drugs were not intended for Davao and the port was only used as a transhipment point.

Authorities are still determining the source and the target destination of the illegal drugs. – Rappler.com