Dope-taking roaches have cops on run

WE have heard from our colleagues at Reuter that police in the Philippines are being driven to distraction by a dangerous crime syndicate of cockroaches and rats.

No sooner have the boys in blue nabbed a stash of illegal drugs than the pesky rodents dig their way into the stores and snort them, a Philippine police chief revealed.

Top cop Colonel Generoso Necesito apparently emphasised that the pilfering pests were causing a great deal of consternation within the force - because valuable evidence against addicts and pushers was disappearing before it could be used in court.

Colonel Necesito said addicted creepy crawlies had gobbled up 700,000 pesos (HK$213,500) worth of marijuana, ''ice'' and cocaine.

They have turned the police crime laboratory into a vile drugs den.

Suspicions that police guarding the stores had made off with the stuff themselves were entirely baseless and ridiculous, said the good Colonel.