Chinese triad eyed

Authorities said yesterday they strongly suspect that Chinese triads ran the shabu laboratory raided last Friday in an upper middle-class subdivision in Parañaque City.

Investigators quoted witnesses as saying that at least six Chinese-looking individuals, mostly women, fled the laboratory, hours after the arrest of caretaker Xuzi Bin Ong, 30.

"Our strongest suspicion is that the laboratory is being run by the triad, but this is still subject to investigation," Southern Police District chief Superintendent Jose Gutierrez Jr. told The STAR.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has launched a manhunt for the cohorts of the Chinese national who was nabbed in Parañaque City for possession of an undetermined quantity of shabu.

The arrest of Xuzi alias Crispin Xu led to the discovery of a laboratory in the same city, where some 68 kilograms of ephedrine, one of the primary ingredients in the manufacture of shabu and some 40 grams of the illegal drugs were seized the other night.

The Parañaque City police, headed by Superintendent Ruben Catabona, were responsible for the arrest of Xuzi and the raid at 19929 Hemlock Street, Executive Heights Subdivision, Barangay Sun Valley. They are set to summon for questioning Teddy Monasterio, the alleged owner of the house.

Xuzi earlier claimed his employer, a certain Mr. Lee rented the two-storey mansion from Monasterio, a former La Salle cager, for P70,000 a month.

Neighbors told investigators that Xuzi rented the house in November last year.

Senior Police Officer 4 Rolando Santiago said interviewed neighbors have been complaining about the stench coming from the house.

Gutierrez said neighbors saw six individuals jump over the mansion’s high wall at around 5 a.m. Xuzi was arrested at around 4:14 a.m. on All Saints’ Day by elements of the Police Community Precinct 3 and members of the barangay police.

They were making their rounds at Purok Manggahan when they spotted Xuzi. They accosted the Chinese national who appeared to be in the act of throwing garbage on the sidewalk. They later found inside his bag a glass flask and a white crystalline substance.

Interrogation of the suspect prompted him to divulge the location of the laboratory, which was later raided after a search warrant was obtained from Parañaque Judge Helen Bautista Ricafort. The warrant was served by Parañaque police at 6 p.m.

Police seized 68 kilograms of ephedrine, 40 grams of shabu, assorted boxes of chemicals, distillers, freezers and other apparatus for the manufacture of the illegal drug.

Metro police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velascco expressed confidence that Xuzi’s cohorts "would be apprehended soon through close coordination with the citizenry, which was how the suspect was arrested."

He commended alert precinct police officers based at Barangay Sun Valley, headed by barangay police supervisor SPO2 Carlito Jonson and barangay captain Bert Guevarra and his tanods, who worked together, and through their vigilance were able to arrest Bin.

Velasco also lauded Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Jose Gutierrez for forging a strong tie-up between the police and communities.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Anselmo Avenido said the laboratory was "by far the largest clandestine operation ever busted in Metro Manila."

The laboratory in Parañaque was the fourth to be raided in Metro Manila. Three other laboratories closed down were in San Juan, Quezon City and Pasig City.

Avenido said Xuzi will be charged for the manufacture of dangerous drugs and precursors and chemicals, an offense punishable by death. – With Non Alquitran, Jaime Laude