Parañaque drug lab raided

The arrest of a Chinese national in Parañaque City yesterday led to a raid on a drug laboratory allegedly being expanded for the manufacture of metamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.

Police Senior Inspector Manan Muarip of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said that once upgraded, the laboratory inside a two-storey mansion at Executive Heights Subdivision in Barangay Sun Valley, could produce a monthly supply of shabu worth billions of pesos.

The laboratory yielded several boxes of equipment, inlcuding beakers and strainers as well as 68 bags of a white crystalline substance suspected to be ephredine, the key ingredient in manufacturing shabu.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina, who arrived several minutes after the raid, commended the efforts of the police, the local governmment and the community for the discovery of the lab.

"This laboratory appears to have been in business for some time now, and is planning to expand. This is bigger than those earleir raided," he said.

Authorities earlier arrested Chinese national Bin Xu Zi, 30, of Quirino Avenue, Barangay Tambo.

Recovered in the suspect’s possession was a black traveling bag containing an undetermined amount of illegal drugs.

Parañaque police chief, Supt. Ruben Catabona said that the suspect had been under surveillance for the past two months.

Catabona said confidential informants have tipped off the police that Bin was operating a shabu laboratory in the city.

In a report to Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Jose Gutierrez Jr., Catabona said the suspect was arrested at around 4:14 a.m.

SPO2 Carlito Jonson, barangay police supervisor of Barangay Sun Valley and barangay tanods were conducting a routine patrol in Purok Manggahan, behind Executive Heights Subdivision in Barangay Sun Valley when they saw a man inside a blue green Mitsubishi Delica van (XET 889).

Barangay chairman Bert Guevara said Joson and the tanods noticed that the man, who was later identified as Bin, appeared in the act of throwing garbage on the sidewalk.

The tanods moved to accost Bin for littering. Joson and the tanods beamed a flashlight on the surprised Bin who suddenly tried to flee.

As he ran away, Bin threw away a black traveling bag. But the tanods caught up with the suspect.

Arresting officers discovered ingredients for making shabu, a glass flask and white crystalline substance inside the bag.

Catabona said that Bin allegedly even tried to bribe the arresting officers with P9,000 for his release.

Police immediately sealed off Bin’s suspected laboratory located at Executive Heights Subdivision also in Barangay Sun Valley after his arrest.

The recovered suspected illegal drugs were brought to the Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) Crime Laboratory for examination.

Police officers and operatives from the PDEA had to wait for a search warrant from Parañaque Executive Judge Helen Ricafort before they could raid the laboratory.

Bin is now detained at the Parañaque City police headquarters and will be charged with violation of PD 825 and Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and direct bribery.