17:03, June 10, 2011
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) expressed alarm Friday on the increasing number of Filipino minors engaged in illegal drug trade.
PDEA director general Undersecretary Jose Gutierrez Jr. said that since 2003, 854 minors, aged between seven to 17, were arrested for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
"This year alone, 85 minors have already been apprehended by authorities for violating the anti-drug law," he said.
Data found that 34 percent of these arrested minors were utilized by drug syndicates as pushers, he said.
Gutierrez said some of the minors were even discovered to be cultivating marijuana plants and others working in clandestine laboratories.
"Incidence of involvement of minors in illegal drug activities is most prevalent in Metro Manila and in the Central Visayas Region," he said.