Drug peddlers not locals, Boracay police chief says

 The police chief in this island said most of the drug suspects they arrested were not locals.

Senior Inspector Jose Mark Anthony Gesulga, Boracay Tourist Assistance Center chief, said this was based on the drug operations over the last two months.

Last week, police caught a boatman from Caloocan City and on Sept. 3, a tour guide from Makati City. Both were detained at the island’s lockup facility.

“They carry illegal drugs in their baggage, pockets and even in their underwear,” said Gesulga. “The drugs were from Metro Manila, Batangas and Mindoro.”

Drugs can easily get in the island due to the lack of monitoring facilities, Gesulga said.

“All of them had passed through the jetty port,” the police chief explained. “The X-ray machines at the port can only monitor bombs, bladed weapons and guns.”

Though the entry of illegal drugs in the island was hard to detect, Gesulga said they have been coordinating with the locals to catch suspects through buy-bust operations./