The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Thursday said there is a probability that the supposed 1.46 tons of cocaine bricks dumped in the ocean of Samar might have drifted on the coastline of the province and other adjoining areas making it difficult for drug law enforcers to salvage and retrieve the illegal drugs.

PDEA Director General Dioniso Santiago cited reports that the agency’s international counterparts were tailing the F/V King Yue 1 vessel on Dec. 2009 up to a certain portion of the Pacific Ocean.

He added that “unfortunately there are still lingering questions about the real story behind the reported dumping of a huge haul of cocaine’’ in the ocean from the vessel.

The PDEA chief added that the drugs were thrown overboard when the crew received word that authorities were following them and that they would certainly be arrested once they arrive in Hong Kong.

Santiago confirmed that PDEA’s Hong Kong law enforcement counterparts intercepted the F/V King Yue 1, searched the vessel but found no drugs on board.

“While it was logical to assume that Samar was the most probable and nearest destination of the cocaine bricks, we overlooked the fact that during that time when the cargo was thrown overboard, the southeasterly monsoon and Pacific winds (amihan) were so strong that in Llorente, Eastern Samar, where some cocaine bricks drifted ashore, the waves rose up to 10 feet and the sea current was faster by at least 10 times,” Santiago added.

In the interviews made by PDEA agents, the local folks in Samar confirmed that winds (amihan) usually affect their area from October to February and that this weather condition can alter the direction of floating objects and even cause them to burst or disintegrate explaining why many of the recovered cocaine bricks were no longer intact.

The PDEA Regional Office 8 said that based on these developments, law enforcers might just be looking for more or less 250 kilograms of cocaine as the extreme weather condition and the reported sightings of groups with air and sea crafts scouring the area and trying to recover the cocaine bricks affected their search operation.

Last week, the PDEA Regional Office 8 turned over 131 cocaine bricks to PDEA head office bringing to 554.1657 the total kilograms of cocaine recovered by law enforcement authorities.

Despite the proliferation of adulterated cocaine sold in sachets, Santiago assured that PDEA and the inter-agency Task Force Samar Cocaine Bricks are on top of the situation as evidenced by the recent arrest of three men including the nephew of Eastern Samar Gov. Conrado Nicart for conspiring to sell a kilogram of high-grade cocaine to undercover agents.

“We are reiterating our call for anyone in possession of these cocaine bricks or sachets to immediately turn them over to PDEA and police authorities so that they can avail of the minimal rewards and avoid criminal liabilities. We are serious in our efforts to suppress the spread of this illegal substance. Do not wait for the long arm of the law to catch you.” Santiago warned.