Police raid at Escolta Towers denied

A female trader from Escolta Twin Towers in Binondo, Manila, clarified yesterday that there was no raid conducted on her unit as reported last month by the Philippine National Police-Narcotics Group.

Emma Lim called the attention of The STAR to the story that appeared last Dec. 24 which mentioned unit 702 of Tower B as one of the units allegedly raided by the Narcotics Group that resulted in the arrest of seven big-time Chinese drug dealers and the confiscation of about 57 kilograms of shabu.

"There was no raid at (my) unit 702-B . . . if this is one way of being famous, this is one thing which we are not happy about," Lim said, saying further that her close relatives and friends were concerned after her condominium unit was mentioned in the story.

Lim also asked the PNP-Narcotics Group under Director Efren Fernandez to be careful in issuing statements regarding anti-drug operations because these are sensitive matters.

Lim added that the Escolta Twin Towers Association had recently met and discussed the apparent negative publicity generated by the big-time anti-drug operations of the police.

Citing the recent meeting of the unit owners’ association, the unit owner said the association had found out that there was no operation at the condominium’s fourth floor parking area where 40 kilos of alleged shabu were reportedly seized by the anti-narcotics agents.

In the official press statement released by the Narcotics Group, Narcotics agents together with combined elements of the National Capital Regional Police Office and the Metro Manila Drug Enforcement Group, served search warrants at units 1601 and 504 of Tower A and units 702 and 503 of Tower B of the Escolta Twin Towers located at 288 Escolta Street in Binondo last Dec. 21.

Conflicts in the Narcotics press release arose when subsequent paragraphs of the press release said one kilogram of shabu came "from unit 702 of Tower A." Arrested during the intensified drug operations were Li Chun Tsai, Tiu Siu Chen, Cu Un Hai, Li Siu Chin, Noel Dizon and Carlos Chan Tan. All were presented during a press conference at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City last Dec. 24. — Christina Mendez