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Duterte says international drug cartels behind floating cocaine packages

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Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/02/20/suspect.jpg"/><figcaption>Locals turn over to police a cocaine block found on the shore of Perez town in Quezon on Sunday. Dennis Datu, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the recent discovery of cocaine packages found floating off Philippine shores prove that notorious international drug cartels have penetrated the country.Some P200 million worth of cocaine was found on the shores of Siargao Island last Thursday. Several blocks of the drug were also netted in the shoreline of Dinagat Island and the sea off Camarines Norte in the same week.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/18/19/transshipment-or-decoy-pdea-eyes-2-angles-in-floating-cocaine-probe">PDEA eyes 2 angles in &#x27;floating cocaine&#x27; probe </a></li></ul>Another box of cocaine <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/02/20/19/another-cocaine-block-washes-ashore-in-quezon">washed ashore</a> in Quezon province, police confirmed Wednesday.“The news that you hear every day about the floating drugs all around the country is that really we have confirmed that Sinaloa and Medellin cartels are in the trade now. It has always been cocaine from Mexico,” Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang following his signing of the Universal Healthcare Act.The Sinaloa drug cartel is notorious in Mexico while the Medellin cartel is a Colombian syndicate founded by drug lord Pablo Escobar. Last week, an alleged ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel was <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/13/19/alleged-sinaloa-cartel-member-found-guilty-of-drug-trafficking">convicted </a>of drug trafficking charges by a Makati court over a January 2015 drug bust that yielded P12 million worth of cocaine.The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) recently said the Sinaloa cartel may be working with Chinese syndicates in the country. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/13/19/sinaloa-cartel-in-cahoots-with-chinese-syndicates-for-philippine-ops-pdea">Sinaloa cartel in cahoots with Chinese syndicates for Philippine ops - PDEA</a></li></ul>Drug syndicates may be using the Philippines as a &quot;transshipment point&quot; for cocaine which is repacked here before it is sent to Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and other nearby countries, PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino earlier said. The floating cocaine packages, however, could have also been a diversionary tactic to smuggle tons of methamphetamine or shabu into the country, he said. Authorities have seized 13 floating cocaine packages since last year, Aquino said. All law enforcement agencies are coordinating for the assessment of the drugs, he added.The Duterte administration has pursued a fierce campaign against illegal drugs, mostly netting traders and users of shabu. Last year, Duterte expressed frustration at the difficulty of realizing his 2016 campaign promise of ridding the country of the illegal drug scourge. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/07/18/duterte-promise-to-solve-drug-problem-a-fiasco">Duterte: Promise to solve drug problem a &#x27;fiasco&#x27;</a></li></ul>

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the discovery of cocaine packages found floating off Philippine shores in the past days prove that notorious drug cartels have penetrated the country.

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the discovery of cocaine packages found floating off Philippine shores in the past days prove that notorious drug cartels have penetrated the country.

Duterte says international drug cartels behind floating cocaine packages

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Duterte says international drug cartels behind floating cocaine packages

Dharel Placido,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 20, 2019 06:43 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

illegal drugs

floating cocaine

drug cartels

Sinaloa

Medellin

drug war

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