Three of 19 drug lords in Central Visayas are based in Bohol, said the top Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-7) official in the region.

The disclosure was issued by PDEA-7 director Yogi Ruiz after the arrest of alleged “big-time” drug distributor Marwin Abelgas, a suspected associate of slain drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, on Friday in Talisay City.

According to Ruiz, the agency’s list of suspected drug lords in the region include those capable of selling at least a kilo of shabu per week.

For her part, PDEA Bohol deputy chief and spokesperson Chona Egam told DYRD Balita on Monday that monitoring operations against the said drug lords have been implemented.

However, Egam did not confirm whether the three drug lords pointed out by Ruiz are still in the province.

She noted that the suspects cited by the regional chief could be the successors of arrested drug lords or those slain in anti-drug operations of law enforcement agencies.

It is also possible that some of the 19 drug lords are continuously moving between the provinces of Bohol and Cebu as most of the drug supply in the region comes from the latter, Egam added.

In the start of 2017, there has been no single anti-illegal drug operation which yielded at least P1 million worth of shabu and led to the arrest of a suspect who could be considered a drug lord. (Allen Doydora)