Ecija cops urge public: Help us find shabu lab

By Manny Galvez

CABANATUAN CITY –The Central Luzon police has asked the support of local officials and the public in Nueva Ecija in finding a shabu laboratory in the province.

“There is a strong possibility that a shabu laboratory is hidden somewhere in Nueva Ecija as shown by the big number of surrenderees,” Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino, Central Luzon police director, said Thursday.          

“All they have to do is to check if there is a shabu lab or if this factory is into shabu making,” Aquino said.

He noted that shabu laboratories were recently discovered in Aurora, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales.

Aquino said a shabu laboratory found beside a piggery in Barangay Baño in Arayat, Pampanga last month is closest to Nueva Ecija.

Among the telltale signs of a shabu laboratory are large water tanks, thick electrical wires, laboratory materials such as empty chemical bottles and drums, chimney or ventilation fans, strong chemical odor and dead or dying trees, plants and grass in the vicinity as well as high fence and barbed wires, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

PDEA said excessive or irregular water waste, odd locks and steel bars on windows, security cameras, people coming during odd hours and residents who burn their trash could also be indications that a shabu laboratory is being maintained.