PROCEDIMIENTOS

Crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride — shabu

Historically shabu was imported into the Philippines (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) . Since 1997, the Philippines has been considered a meth- amphetamine HCl producer . The discovery of a clandestine shabu laboratory in the northern area of the country in 1997 validated the shift from trafficking crystal methamphetamine to manufacturing the drug in the country (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) . There are various reasons for the relatively new shift to local produc- tion, namely: (1) the simplicity of processing ephedrine into shabu; (2) the crackdown on production facilities and processed metham- phetamine HCl in other source countries; and (3) the reduced risk associated with trafficking precursor (ephedrine) compared to shabu (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) .

Cannabis

Wild growth of cannabis occurs in the mountainous regions in the Philippines . Its availability in the drug market can be estimated from the increase in cultivation sites and continuous seizures of large quantities of the drug (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) . Data from UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) state that in 1972 there were nine identified cannabis cultivation sites whereas today the number of sites has increased to 120, located in nine regions of the country .

There are no documented reports of clandes- tine hashish laboratories; however, there have been seizures of the drug in the drug market (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) . Cannabis sales are estimated to generate about $900 million per year (United States Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, 2003) . Canna- bis is generally cultivated in areas that are inaccessible by vehicles, and/or controlled by insurgent groups (United States Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, 2003) .

Precursors and essential chemicals

The Philippines does not produce or manu- facture ephedrine, nor legally import it in large quantities for licit pharmaceuticals (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) . The Ma-hung plant (Ephedra equisetina), the source of ephedrine, grows naturally in China, India, Pakistan and Nepal . It is

assumed that the bulk of the ephedrine seized in various clandestine laboratories has been illegally imported . Some uncontrolled locally produced chemicals found in clan- destine laboratories are alleged to have been acquired from legal wholesalers/retailers (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) .

Availability

According to drug user self-reports the availability of shabu and cannabis is similar, with 26 per cent and 28 per cent of users indicating these drugs were easy to obtain (see Table A10 .1) (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003d) . In contrast, 5 per cent of users rated ecstasy as easy to obtain . Shabu is typically sold in sachet packets at 100 peso per sachet . Ecstasy pills or capsules were usually sold at around 800 pesos with prices ranging from 500 to 2000 peso (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003d) .

Table A10 .1 . Availability ratings for ecstasy, shabu and cannabis by survey respondents, Philippines

How difficult is it to get

the following drugs (n = 280) Ecstasy Shabu Cannabis

% Impossible 20 7 6 % Difficult 20 32 26

% Easy 5 26 28

% No response 56 45 40

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Since 1997, Philippine law enforcement has dismantled 32 laboratories; a total of 2057 .21 kilograms of shabu were recovered (Figure A10 .1) .

In 2004, combined law enforcement agency efforts conducted 24,778 anti-drug operations (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) . The operations resulted in the seizure of illicit drugs worth P10 .781 billion (approx .

AU$250 million), precursor chemicals were valued at P9 .406 billion (approx . AU$215 million), and equipment worth P5 .165 million (approx . AU$118,000) . Methamphetamine HCl accounted for 23 per cent of the overall value of the drugs seized (3676 kg valued at P7 bil- lion) (approx . AU$160,000) and cannabis products worth P428 million (approx . AU$9 million) . Table A10 .2 shows statistics for drugs seized within the Philippines in 2004 .

Drug trade

The Philippines serves as a transit point for and producer of crystal methamphetamine and cannabis . According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Centre and the Dangerous Drugs Board, methampheta- mine hydrochloride (shabu) is imported into the country through four main avenues: • seaports, concealed in container vans or

stashed inside cargoes

• international airports, the preferred traffick- ing avenue for small quantities (less than 1 kilogram to multi-kilogram shipments) using false compartments in luggage or through body packing

• mail and parcel services, preferred in foreign destinations that have large Filipino com- munities like Guam, the United States, Australia, England and the Middle East • Philippine coastlines, the area where most

of the huge shipments of both finished products and raw material (precursors) are imported . Shabu is imported into

the Philippines through the shorelines of Northern Luzon, Central Luzon (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Centre, 2003), and Southern Tagalog regions, specifically the provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Zambales, Aurora, Quezon and Mindoro . The report also lists Masbate, Palawan, Sorsogon, South Cotabato, Davao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi as potential sites for shabu smuggling .

The Philippines also serves as a tranship- ment point for further export of shabu to Japan, Australia, Korea, the United States, Guam and Saipan (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) .

Cannabis

Most of the cannabis produced in the Phili- ppines is consumed locally, with the remainder exported to Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Europe (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) . 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 2004 2003 2002 2001 1999 1998 1997

Source: Data received from Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005

Figure A10 .1 . Number of dismantled drug laboratories in Philippines, 1997–2004

Table A10 .2 . Seizures of illicit drugs in Philippines, 2004

Drug Quantity

Methamphetamine HCl/shabu 11,001,795 grams Cannabis plants 1,948,999 pcs Cannabis seedlings 433,054 pcs Cannabis seeds 5215 grams Cannabis dried leaves 827,250 grams Hashish 200 grams Ecstasy 103 pcs Cocaine 2421 grams Opium poppy 9000 grams

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Ecstasy is imported and used in the Philippines, regardless of its high price (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) . The assumption by authorities is that it is being used in ‘high-class bars’ . Likewise, cocaine also enters the Philippines for transhipment and personal use, at much lower levels than methamphetamine . It is generally seized from mail parcels . The cocaine originates in South America and is apparently destined for the Philippines and onwards to other countries . The Philippines is also used as a transit point for commercial air couriers of heroin, but at much lower levels than methamphetamine . Heroin is tran- shipped from Thailand and Pakistan, and is destined mainly for the United States, Guam and Europe (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003a) .

Drug arrests

In 2004, as a result of law enforcement operations a total of 26,633 people were arrested (see Table A10 .3) (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) . The majority of arrests were for use of an illicit drug (52%), supply of an illicit drug to a drug user (45%); culti- vation comprised 0 .2 per cent of arrests . Forty per cent of arrests were in metro-

politan Manila, 20 per cent in Southern Tagalog or Calabarzon region, 8 per cent in Central Luzon and Central Visayas, and the remaining 24 per cent in 13 other regions . Fifty-six foreign nationals were arrested, 21 (38%) of whom were Chinese nationals, mostly involved in the manufacture of shabu (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) .

Crop studies and crop eradication statistics

Intensified cannabis eradication was under- taken in 2004, with 94 operations yielding the uprooting of 1,948,999 plants and 433,054 seedlings and the seizure of 827,250 grams of dried leaves and other products (Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005) .

Table A10 .3 . Category of drug-related arrests as a result of law enforcement operations

Category of arrest # %

Use of an illicit drug 13,876 52 Sale of an illicit drug to a user 12,016 45 Possession of an illicit drug 666 2 .5 Cultivation 49 0 .2 Financier 26 0 .09

Source: Dangerous Drugs Board, 2005

A10 .4 Drug-taking practices,