3 Chinese charged in P100-M San Juan drug bust

MANILA, Philippines - A San Juan prosecutor has found probable cause to charge in court three Chinese men arrested for allegedly selling 20 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P100 million, in a drug bust in San Juan last week.

Assistant State Prosecutor Ireneo Quintano also recommended no bail for Ling Hong Seng, Ling Hong Beng and Hong Heng Hung, all from mainland China.

In his three-page resolution, Quintano ruled that the deal was consummated after the three suspects turned over a packet of shabu weighing two kilos to an undercover police officer.

“The pieces of evidence presented by the AIDSOTF (Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force) are sufficient enough to establish the existence of probable cause for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act 9165, the anti-drug law,” Quintano said in his resolution.

Quintano’s ruling was a relief to AIDSOTF police officers, who said they received information that a retired justice official was reportedly meddling in the case of the three foreigners by setting a meeting between an official of the San Juan prosecutor’s office and the suspects’ lawyer.

In a phone interview with The STAR, Quintano denied any knowledge of the supposed meeting and maintained that he would assess the case base on evidence.

Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia, AIDSOTF legal officer and chief investigator, said they believe in the integrity of Quintano.

In his report to AIDSOTF head Deputy Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr., Merdegia said the foreigners were selling two kilos of shabu worth P4.8 million during the sting. After the arrest, police officers found another 18 kilos of locally made and imported shabu in the suspects’ vehicles.

Merdegia said the AIDSOTF’s accomplishment has a huge impact on the operations of the drug syndicate.

“We hope to get the boss of the syndicate soon,” he added.