MANILA, March 11 -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it would beef up coordination with foreign counterparts and conduct more patrols to curb drug trafficking within the country's waters.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said they are not ruling out the possibility that drug syndicates from South America are using the Philippines as a transshipment point for cocaine smuggling.

This came after fisherfolk found 20 bricks of cocaine worth PHP111.8 million in the territorial waters of Barangay Tangbo, Arteche, Eastern Samar on March 8.

"Based on the previous interviews with the units that investigated this matter, it's possible that these drugs may have come from the Sout...