The Panglao Police Station is conducting a validation of a report which indicated that a mobile “shabu” laboratory is operating in one of the town’s barangays, according to the municipality’s police chief. 

Senior Insp. Jomar Pomarejos on Monday said that the report caught him by surprise but he made it clear that they will be investigating to clarify the veracity of the information.

According to Pomarejos, he has not, prior to the surfacing of recent accounts, received any information from the police’s intelligence network on such operation since he became the town’s police chief.

However, the police chief did not debunk the reports as he cited its possibility particularly due to the presence of foreigners in the town which is a tourist destination.

According to previous reports, a shabu laboratory was set up inside a house which was rented by Taiwanese nationals in Barangay Tawala, Panglao.

Pomajeros said that there had been an investigation on the case but noted that results of the initial probe indicated that there were no illegal drug activities involved.

The house’s owner previously complained to police regarding an altercation with the foreign nationals due to unsettled rental bills left by the tenants, said Pomarejos.

It was also reported that illegal activities were being conducted inside the house when it was rented, but the allegation involved illegal online gaming, not drugs, he added.

Although he was unsure of the Taiwanese nationals’ involvement in illegal online gaming, Pomarejos noted that the foreigners had not been seen in Panglao after a raid was conducted on a similar operation in Luzon. (Allen Doydora)