Four Chinese killed, P3.4 billion worth of shabu seized in Zambales bust —PNP

Four Chinese drug traffickers were killed Tuesday and 500 kilograms of shabu seized in a sting operation in Candelaria, Zambales, police said, describing it as the biggest narcotics haul this year.

The drugs, with an estimated value of P3.4 billion ($70 million), were put on small boats in international waters and smuggled into the country, the Philippine National Police said in a statement.

One of the men killed was identified as Xu Youha, who the PNP said was "one of the key players of illegal drugs activities" in the Philippines and had been under surveillance.

The buy-bust operation at a hotel in Candelaria "resulted in the death of four Chinese drug traffickers who engaged government operatives in a gun battle in a failed attempt to escape," the statement said.

Police believe the drugs were to be distributed in Luzon.

The sting involved several government agencies led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

"This operation was a result of the whole-of-government approach in our campaign against illegal drugs," police chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar said in the statement.

Shabu addiction has been used by President Rodrigo Duterte to justify his war against drugs and prevent the country's slide to narco-state status.

International Criminal Court prosecutors are seeking to investigate the anti-narcotics campaign that rights groups say has killed tens of thousands of people. — Agence France-Presse