SPD chief defends shabu lab raiders

Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Jose Gutierrez came to his men’s rescue in connection with the alleged escape of six suspects from the shabu laboratory raided in Parañaque City last Nov. 1.

"They were not conducting a surveillance around the house for 24-hours," Gutierrez said.

Instead, the SPD chief clarified that the Parañaque police had been conducting a surveillance around the Executive Heights Subdivision area.

"They could not really pinpoint which house it was, or where the odor that residents were complaining about was coming from," he explained.

The arrest of suspect Xuzi Bin Ong came as a lucky break for the police authorities because the suspect eventually led them back to the house located at 19929 Hemlock Street, in Executive Heights Subdivision, Gutierrez earlier told The STAR.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco ordered an investigation into the alleged escape.

For his part, Parañaque police chief Superintendent Ruben Catabona enumerated three reasons why the alleged suspects could have escaped: It was a holiday, Xuzi was arrested at dawn, and the authorities did not immediately have a search warrant.

Case investigator Senior Police Officer 4 Rolando Santiago earlier said the police were only able to cordon off the area at around 7 a.m.

Xuzi was arrested at around 4:14 a.m. by barangay tanods, initially for littering. The village watchers saw a beaker and a substance residue that looked like shabu.

Sun Valley barangay chairman Bert Guevara said that Catabona had the residue tested by the scene of the crime team for metamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.

When the results showed that the residues were shabu, it was only when the Parañaque police informed Gutierrez of the possibility of the shabu lab in the area and applied for a search warrant.

Santiago said that the time lapse could have allowed Xuzi or somebody else to tip off their cohorts still inside the house.

Xuzi was often seen at the mansion and reportedly used the alias Crispin Ong.

Police quoted witnesses as saying that those who allegedly escaped were mostly women.

Discovered during the raid were fully set-up shabu-making equipment, base ingredients for shabu and various chemicals stored in boxes. Drug paraphernalia were also recovered.

A small tunnel at the back wall of the mansion was allegedly used by the shabu manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Sun Valley barangay chairman Bert Guevara said two other areas near Executive Heights are now under surveillance by the police.

He identified the areas as Cherry East and Culdesac, noting they have already received reports that there are drug dealers in those areas.