Superintendent Jose Marcelo, Valenzuela police chief, said the building at the Elvica Compound on Malinis Street, Barangay Lawang Bato had been under surveillance by the local drug enforcement unit (DEU) on suspicion of being a haven for illegal drug activities.
DEU chief Senior Inspector Danilo Bugay and his men had been casing the area for two months. Unfortunately, their quarry – two Chinese men – escaped on board a green Honda CRV at the height of the fire.
Marcelo identified the building owner as Lee Yuk Sau, a resident of 34 Java Street, Arbortowne Village in Karuhatan. The person renting the building was identified as Wang Yasei, of 6th Avenue in Caloocan City.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. ordered a massive police manhunt for the foreign nationals.
Lina, who personally inspected the fire scene, disclosed that some 650 kilos of shabu, 195 kilograms of liquefied shabu and 200 kilos of unfiltered drugs were found inside the warehouse.
The DILG chief, who is also the chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, has asked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to conduct a deeper probe on the alleged laboratory and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to assist the PDEA.
"We must exert all effort to prevent the proliferation of shabu laboratories in the metropolis and the country. Warehouses such as the one razed in Valenzuela must be prevented from illegally operating at all cost," he said.
Last month, police raided a shabu laboratory inside a rented mansion in a middle-class subdivision in Parañaque City.
Metro police chief Deputy Director Reynaldo Velasco said the Valenzuela discovery was one of the biggest in the country.
"This is a big blow to the drug trade considering the large volume of chemicals and finished shabu totaling 1,065 kilos or over a ton of dangerous drugs worth P2.2 billion," he said.
Chief Inspector Efren Yadao, Valenzuela City fire chief, said the Valenzuela laboratory was discovered after putting out the fire that started on the ground floor at around 3:05 p.m.
Initial investigation showed the laboratory had been occupied for quite some time by Wang. Yadao said the period covered by the rental is still being determined.
Arson probes said the fire started at the southwest portion of the ground floor, where machinery used for the manufacturing plastic products were burned. They later found "laboratory-like" equipment and found chemicals believed to be methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu.
Probers said the fire was apparently triggered by an explosion of an LPG tank.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze at about 3:42 p.m. – With Pete Laude