While several Central Visayas drug lords have fallen over the past year, the Tagbilaran City Police Station (TCPS) chief expressed belief that some big-time narcotics traders are still based in Bohol.

This is due to the still abundant drugs seized during police anti-narcotics operations which have recently resumed after a month-long hiatus, said TCPS chief Supt. Nicomedes Olaivar on Wednesday.

Olaivar’s statement was made after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-7 earlier this week said that three of 19 drug lords in Central Visayas are in Bohol.

The PDEA’s disclosure has prompted the TCPS to coordinate with other police units and law enforcement agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation to verify the report.

Olaivar will also be seeking support from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Provincial Intelligence Branch in confirming the presence of the suspects in the province.

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

However, Egam did not confirm whether the three drug lords pointed out by the agency’s regional headquarters are still in the province.

She noted that the suspects cited by the PDEA-7could 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. (Allen Doydora)