P100 M-worth of shabu seized

About P100-million worth of shabu were seized by the Philippine National Police’s Narcotics Group from two Chinese suspected big-time drug couriers in the southern part of the Metro Manila over the weekend.

National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center head Deputy Director Jewel Canson announced yesterday the arrest of Johnny Tan, 36, and Yim Tat Chow alias Tang Cong, 52.

Canson said that the police will continue to step up its operations against illegal drugs despite President Estrada’s recent move to lift death penalty and commuting the sentence to life imprisonment.

"Until the Congress had totally abolished death penalty, these suspects will have to face the capital punishment. We have to follow and implement the law, whatever punishment waits the violators," he said.

The police said Tan was nabbed by narcotics agents in a buy bust operation at 2:30 p.m. last Sunday at the parking lot of a fastfood chain along Cuneta Street in Pasay City.

"These suspects are in Level One operations, which means they do not deal with just one kilo but multi-million pesos worth of shabu," said Canson, who is also the PNP’s Deputy Chief for Operations.

Shabu, which replaced marijuana as the most common cause of drug abuse in the country, is sold for at least P2-million per kilo in the underground market, police said.

Canson noted that drug syndicates continue to penetrate the country’s local supply of illegal drugs by transporting undetected through Philippine shores.

During the recent operation, police also seized at least 20 liters of liquefied methamphetamine, a substance used in producing shabu from Yim.

The liquefied shabu was found at the compartment of Yim’s Honda CRV, along with the 30 kilos of high-grade shabu.

Tan, who speaks broken Filipino, tagged Yim as the source of his supply of shabu. About P20-million of shabu were initially seized from Tan during the first operation.

After Tan’s arrest, Narcotics agents arrested Yim for selling five kilos of shabu to an undercover agent at the parking lot of a supermarket in Makati City. A search at Yim’s car led to the seizure of the rest of the shabu.

Police also reported yesterday that over 300 kilos of shabu worth P600-million were seized this year in its intensified campaign against illegal drugs.

According to Canson, foreign drug traffickers, mostly from the People’s Republic of China are using the country as international transshipment of shabu.