Two drug traffickers sentenced to death

Two tattooed Chinese nationals, tagged as members of the Hong Kong Triad, were sentenced to death by a Caloocan Regional Trial Court judge yesterday for trafficking over a kilo of shabu and ephedrine hydrochloride four years ago.

In a 33-page decision, Judge Victorino Alvaro of RTC Branch 120 also imposed a fine of P.5 million each on Leman Ang, 37, and Zhangwei Lu, 31, both natives of mainland China and with a temporary address in Caloocan City.

The convicts, who spoke in halting English, were immediately committed to the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City.

Court sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The STAR several people had previously come forward trying to intercede for the suspects, but were consistently denied.

They said some suspicious-looking people were seen walking around the Caloocan City Justice Complex on 10th Avenue where the promulgation was made yesterday.

When arraigned, the duo, who admitted having first come to the Philippines in 1997 but engaged in separate businesses, pleaded not guilty despite overwhelming evidence presented in court by witnesses.

Forensic chemists of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found Lu positive for fluorescent powder dusted on the marked money used in a 2001 drug bust.

NBI operatives arranged to buy the 1.0292 kilos of the prohibited drug from the suspects at P580,000.

Ang and Lu were arrested at their residence in an operation conducted by the Special Task Force of the NBI, led by Special Investigator Eric Isidoro at 4 p.m. of Aug. 2, 2001.

In their defense, the convicts claimed they were framed by the arresting officers.

This, however, was repudiated by the court, saying the claim can be easily concocted and is one of the most common line of defense in drug cases. The court added that the accused failed to give clear and convincing evidence they were indeed set up.

The case dragged on for several years after the suspects tried to exhaust all legal remedies available, even reaching the Court of Appeals (15th Division), but was subsequently annulled and set aside on April 18, 2002.