By: Jean Fernando, Francis Wakefield, Franco Regala
Some 72 kilos of shabu worth R360 million were seized Tuesday night by anti-narcotics and police operatives during a raid on a warehouse inside a private subdivision in Las Piñas City.
Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario said that raided warehouse is located at Unit B-Block 3, Tiongquiao St., BF Martinville Subdivision, Barangay Manuyo 2, Las Piñas City.
The raiding team was composed of members of the Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG), PDEA K9, Highway Patrol Group (HPG) Southern Police District Office (SPDO) and National Capital Region Office (NCRPO).
Apolinario said the lawmen were armed with a search warrant issued by Manila Executive Judge Reynaldo Alhambra when they swooped down on the warehouse at about 10:30 p.m. to arrest a certain Lee with aliases Johnny, Jen, Luk, Jimmy, Pilay, and Tanda, said to be the leader of Lee drug syndicate.
However, Apolinario said Lee was not around when the raiding team arrived at the warehouse.
PDEA Region 3 Director Ismael G. Fajardo Jr said the 72 kilos of shabu were found placed in aluminum foil packs inside four white styrofoam boxes filled with dried fish.
“The 72 kgs of shabu is intended to be distributed in Central Luzon and Calabarzon for consumption but fortunately we were able to prevent it,’’ Fajardo said.
PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa, who arrived during the inventory, said the seized shabu could have come from other countries since there is no more shabu laboratory operating in the country.
Dela Rosa ordered the police to launch a manhunt against Lee and the other members of the drug group.
Fajardo said the Las Piñas drug seizure was a follow-up operation relative to the arrest of Chen Teho Chang who was caught with 50 kilos of shabu in an operation on June 3, 2017 at the parking lot of Red Planet Hotel located at Asena, Parañaque City.
The arrest of Chan also led to the recovery of three more kilos of shabu hidden under packs of dried mangoes in a residential building in Barangay Moonwalk, Parañaque City.
The seized shabu was brought to PDEA Laboratory Service National Headquarters for examination.
The suspects will be charged with possession of dangerous drugs.