Ex-Bangsamoro exec denies link to Laos drugs

MANILA, Philippines —  A week after he was tagged as the financier behind a P3.5-billion shabu shipment from Laos, former Bangsamoro parliament member Edrieza Hadji Nasser Rimbang has denied involvement in the foiled smuggling of the illegal drugs into the Philippines.

Rimbang criticized the government for zeroing in on him as the brains behind the drug shipment intercepted by Laotian authorities on Oct. 1, stressing that he and his family have been suffering from what he described as baseless accusations.

“Their claim that I am involved in the Laos shipment is not true. I have not talked with any government official or people here in the Philippines to go to Laos or bring anything undesirable into the country,” Rimbang said in a video message posted on Facebook on Thursday night.

Rimbang said he is talking with his lawyers for his legal moves to clear his name, maintaining that he would never do anything that would destroy the lives of Filipinos.

If he was really racking up a fortune from illegal drugs, Rimbang said he could have had more than enough funds in the recent regional election to win a seat in parliament representing Lanao del Sur’s third district.

“What can I do, I was not fortunate enough because I have no money,” he said.

Rimbang also dared the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to review their records and try to find out if he was ever charged or investigated for illegal drugs.

The police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) earlier summoned Rimbang and 40 other persons and companies in connection with the drug shipment. However, he and Abdulah Karim Macalatas, Abdullah Rimbang Macarimbang and Aldren Samante have yet to show up for the probe.

Rimbang has lamented that his family was affected by the allegations that he is a drug kingpin, including his children who are no longer going to school and are fearful for their lives.

He urged the government not to link him to illegal drugs just because of his ties with former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“I am not a criminal but with the way they are treating me, I am being judged like a criminal,” Rimbang said.

PNP readies charges

In response, the Philippine National Police said they have the goods to file criminal complaints against Rimbang.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said yesterday the CIDG has obtained pieces of evidence that would implicate Rimbang in the crime.

“We will wait for the recommendation or conclusion by no less than the CIDG in coordination with the PDEA for whatever case that can be leveled against him,” Nartatez said, adding that at least 11 people who are among the 40 personalities summoned by the CIDG could face charges.

Asked about the PDEA’s assessment that Rimbang was not only financier but the mastermind of the drug smuggling operation, Nartatez said they have the same conclusion.

“The PDEA and the CIDG and the PNP for that matter is one in this assessment and would-be recommendation,” he said.