TRECE MARTIRES: The Philippines burned 1.4 tons (over 3,000 pounds) of seized narcotics on Thursday as police warned the nation still faces a “flood” of illegal drugs despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly crackdown.
Cellophane wrapped bricks of cocaine and methamphetamine were packed into a massive incinerator in Trece Martires City under armed guard in a carefully staged event before TV cameras.
Police said they are now targeting higher-level traffickers despite an anti-drug crackdown that has officially killed over 5,300 alleged users and dealers — a number of rights groups say could be three times higher.
“We have shifted to supply reduction because the flood of illegal drugs continues despite our intensified campaign ... on the street level,” national police spokesman Bernard Banac told reporters.
Despite a campaign pledge to rid the nation of drugs within months of taking office in 2016, in March Duterte said “things have worsened.”
Campaigners say the drug war killings could amount to crimes against humanity.
Though the Philippines has pulled out of the International Criminal Court, the war crimes body is pushing ahead with a preliminary examination of the crackdown.
Police said the cache burned Thursday accounted for just over a fifth of all dangerous drugs seized by police in the past three years.
“All of the drugs seized... will be burned and will not be recycled,” said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino, referring to the practice whereby corrupt police sell seized narcotics.
Philippines burns cocaine, meth as drug ‘flood’ continues
Philippines burns cocaine, meth as drug ‘flood’ continues
- Philippine police say they are now targeting higher-level traffickers
- Cache burned Thursday accounted for just over a fifth of all dangerous drugs seized by police in the past three years
Grand jury declines to indict man in shooting that killed teen at Kentucky State University
- After the grand jury decision, Kentucky State officials said they “will cooperate with law enforcement and investigators as appropriate” and are focused on student safety and well-being
FRANKFORT, Kentucky: A grand jury has declined to indict the father of two Kentucky State University students who was charged with murder in an on-campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.
In a social media post after the Tuesday hearing, defense attorney Scott Danks said grand jurors decided not to indict his client, Jacob Lee Bard, for the Dec. 9 shooting and he is out of jail. Bard’s attorneys have said that 20 to 30 people had gathered to attack his son and family, and that he was justified in shooting two people who were beating his son.
After the grand jury decision, Kentucky State officials said they “will cooperate with law enforcement and investigators as appropriate” and are focused on student safety and well-being.
Bard’s attorneys say the family was moving their younger son out, with two armed campus police officers present, after withdrawing both sons from school because of “multiple armed, violent” incidents against them and other students in the days leading up to Dec. 9, some captured on security cameras.
When the family and an officer reached the dormitory entrance on the move-out day, the group of people in masks and hoods rushed out and began violently assaulting the family and others, including beating the son’s head against the pavement, the attorneys said.
In October, the younger son reported a burglary in his dorm room to campus police and received threats of violence afterward, the attorneys said.
Because of continued death threats, the sons are now staying in an undisclosed location, the attorneys added.
“Jacob’s actions were absolutely justified under the law, and were the only measure that prevented his son’s death or serious injury,” the attorneys wrote.
Investigators have said the shooting was isolated, but they have not publicly shared details of the circumstances or a possible motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis.
In a message to the campus community, Kentucky State said the grand jury decision “does not lessen the pain our community continues to feel, nor does it change our priorities.”
“Our commitment remains centered on supporting our students and ensuring Kentucky State University is a safe place to learn, live, and work,” it said.
The shooting was the second in four months near the residence hall. Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle on Aug. 17, striking two people who the university said weren’t students. Frankfort police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and the second sustained serious injuries. The dorm and at least one vehicle were damaged by gunfire.
Police have said Bard, 48, is from Evansville, Indiana, which is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of Frankfort.
Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.
