SEVEN hundred twenty three people were arrested in a week’s time in the region as Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) implemented its one-time big-time operation called Oplan Silhig.

The operation was patterned after the Cebu City Police Office’s Oplan Pokemon, which was implemented in August last year after Senior Supt. Joel Doria assumed as the Cebu City Police Office chief.

The PRO-7 found it effective in eradicating illegal drugs and persons involved in the illegal drug trade, especially since the operation would not only involve going after people involved in illegal drugs but also those in illegal gambling and violators of local ordinances.

“Oplan Silhig is a vigorous and unrelenting campaign against illegal drugs, focusing on the simultaneous conduct of saturation drive, buy-bust operation, implementation of warrant of arrest/search warrant, anti-carnapping and local ordinances,” said Senior Supt. Dennis Agustin, PRO-7 deputy regional director for operations, during the presentation of the 100 people who were part of those 723 arrested during the June 12 to June 18 operations.

Agustin said that during that time PRO-7 conducted 188 operations against illegal drugs and arrested 317 persons. The Cebu Provincial Police Office got the bulk of arrests with 135 for the week, followed by Cebu City Police Office with 86 arrests, the Mandaue City Police Office with 51, the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office with 27, the Bohol Provincial Police Office with 15 and the Siquijor Provincial Police Office with 3 persons arrested.

The weeklong operation also yielded 534 grams of illegal drugs with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P6,293,178.