Fisherman finds P166.6-M drugs at sea, turns them over to PDEA

MANILA, Philippines — Suspected drugs valued at P166.6 million were recovered from the shoreline of Batanes, a report from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.

A fisherman, 59, found the drugs along the coast of Barangay Chanaryan, Basco, on June 19 late afternoon and turned it over to authorities on Wednesday afternoon, according to the PDEA.

The fisherman found “one sack partially opened containing 24 packs of vacuum-sealed plastic and one pack partially opened labelled ‘Daguanying’ containing white crystalline substance suspected to be illegal drugs,” the PDEA explained.

The agency did not say what type of drug was recovered, but it did note that the drugs weighed a total of 24.5 kilograms.

The PDEA Batanes provincial office took custody of the recovered suspected drugs and will turn it over to the agency’s laboratory at the soonest available flight to mainland Cagayan.

READ: Shabu found drifting off Luzon now at P9.3B – PNP

This followed a string of similar incidents in which drugs were recovered from the waters off Luzon’s coastal provinces.

Last Tuesday, the Philippine National Police said the total value of the drugs found drifting off Luzon had reached P9.3 billion as of June 20, 2025.

“Like the provinces where floating packs of shabu were earlier discovered, Batanes is also located in the island of Luzon. This proves that there are still more out there waiting to be found,” PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez said in a statement later on Thursday.

“Scouring the country's coastlines continues. Maritime patrols are working around the clock until none of the contraband is in sight,” Nerez added./jpv/coa

(2025/06/26-12:28)