Philippines authorities have made the biggest drug seizure in the country’s history, confiscating 2,000 pounds (890 kilograms) and 1,110 liters of liquid methamphetamine worth about $120 million in a series of raids this month.
“It is not only the biggest haul for this year, but so far the biggest in history,” Philippines Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre told reporters at a news conference in Manila on Tuesday.
The operation was the result of a four month probe by the country’s National Bureau of Investigation after receiving a tip about a Chinese organization manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs, according to a press release.
Three Chinese nationals and seven Filipinos were arrested in the raids, the NBI said.
According to the Philipines’ Dangerous Drugs Board, there are 1.3 million drug users in the country, which has a total population of 100 million people.
Tackling rising drug consumption and production was one of Philippines’ President, Rodrigo Duterte’s key campaign planks during the country’s elections earlier this year.
Duterte promised to vigorously combat the problem in his country and has waged a bloody campaign against the drug trade since his winning the presidency.
Nearly 6,000 people have been killed in the drug war since July, according to the Philippines National Police.
“These are mass murders,” Senator Leila de Lima, one of Duterte’s top critics, told CNN. “High crime is a ground for impeachment under (the) constitution.”
The drug war, off-color comments and an abrasive approach to international politics have drawn international interest and scrutiny in Duterte’s nascent presidency.
But despite the rising body count, a chorus of complaints from international human rights monitors and even admitting he personally killed drug suspects while he served as mayor of Davao City, polls show that support for and trust of Duterte are very high among Filipinos.
“Where before there was no respect for the law, now there is,” Dr. Lorraine Badoy, a Filipina NGO worker and Duterte voter, told CNN in an interview in October.