A SERIES of anti-narcotics operations conducted by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday resulted in the neutralization of five suspected members of a Chinese Triad using the country as a major base of their illicit drug activities and the seizure of more than P1.5 billion worth of shabu, PDEA chair, Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva said.

“We have neutralized a major drug trafficking ring in the country being operated by a group of undesirable Chinese nationals following several weeks of intelligence-driven operations,” Villanueva said as he thanked the PNP headed by General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar for providing them full support to the successful operation.

The 1st buy-bust on 47 Magsaysay Street, Barangay San Bartolome in Novaliches, Quezon City around 10:30 a.m. Sunday led to the arrest of Wille Lu Tan alias Chen Bien,42; Antonio Wong alias ‘Wang Zhong Chun/Wang Min,’28; and Chen Zhin,79.

Recovered from the suspects were an estimated 127 kilograms of the so-called ‘poor man’s cocaine’ valued at P863.6 million.

Members of the PDEA Intelligence and Investigation Service, Special Enforcement Service and National Capital Region Office, Task Force Noah of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, tQ.C. Police District and PNP Drug Enforcement Group were involved in the operation.

PNP-DEG director, Brigadier Gen. Remus B. Medina described the arrested suspects as ‘well-known distributors of shabu within Metro Manila and its nearby regions.’

Another sting conducted in front of the China Savings Bank’s Paso de Blas branch along General Luis Street in Paso de Blas, Valenzuela City 11:30 a.m. Sunday resulted in the arrest of Joseph Dy,42.

Members of the PDEA, Task Force Noah of the ISAFP, PNP-DEG and the Valenzuela City Police Station conducted the operation which resulted in the confiscation of a total of 16 kilograms of shabu worth P102 million.

The 3rd operation inside Warehouse No. 3 of the Grand SG Summit Development Corporation in Bgy. Santol, Balagtas, Bulacan conducted around 5:40 p.m. Sunday resulted in the killing of 50-year old Chinese national Zi Shen Wu.

Members of the PNP-DEG, the PDEA, the Bulacan Police Provincial Office and the Task Force Noah conducted the operation.

Zi Shen Wu, a resident of Bgy. Santol was killed in a gunbattle with undercover officers shortly after he sensed he was dealing with a poseur. Recovered during the operation were 75 kilograms of shabu worth P510 million, a chamber-loaded caliber .45 pistol and the boodle money topped by a marked P1,000 bill.

A mobile phone seized from the possession of the slain suspect is now being subjected to a forensic examination to determine the other contacts and cohorts of the slain suspects.

Villanueva said that the recovered drugs were wrapped in green teabags with Chinese markings. He added that they have launched a massive hunt for another member of the syndicate identified only as alias ‘Chen Hongli.’

Sunday’s operations were the latest to be jointly conducted by the PDEA and the PNP with the help of the ISAFP amid their stepped-up war on drugs which has been described by both Villanueva and Eleazar as a major contributory factor to the massive crime reduction in the country over the past five years.

Since July 2016, government agents have seized over P62 billion worth of shabu and other dangerous drugs as a result of over 207,000 anti-narcotics operations which led in the arrest of nearly 299,000 drug personalities including more than 12,000 ‘high-value targets’ composed of foreign nationals, elected officials, uniformed personnel, government employees, celebrities, target-listed drug traffickers and leaders and members of known drugs groups, said Director General Villanueva.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon