Sino tagged in Zambo shabu lab surrenders

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A Chinese national suspected of being a member of six international drug syndicates formally surrendered to the police to clear his name, officials said here.

Yang Wenyi, alias Andy Yang or Andy Yu, gave himself up to combined elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Cebu and was presented to the media here yesterday by Mayor Celso Lobregat during an emergency peace and order council meeting.

Yang was presented along with another Chinese national identified as Lucky Ong and seven other Filipino suspects arrested earlier for allegedly working for Yang.

Yang, however, claimed that these people were innocent.

“Nandito ako para mag-surrender. Sila walang alam, damay lang sila. Ako walang alam (I’m here to surrender. They don’t know anything. They were just implicated. I don’t know anything),” Yang said.

But police intelligence and the PDEA surveillance team alleged that Yang was tagged as one of the key personalities in the Chinese international drug ring cell in the Philippines operating in Zamboanga City. He was identified as Yang Dei Yi alias Xiao Yang.

Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, Western Mindanao police director, confirmed reports that Yang has had links with the international drug syndicate.

Caringal said they are now tracking the links of Yang’s illegal drug operations with the international group and the extent of shabu produced in the city.

“We have reports of his links to the international drug ring and we are still connecting the dots. We have to trace all the possibilities, even perhaps the possibility of their connection with some of our policemen,” Caringal said.

He said it is impossible for a foreign drug syndicate to operate without any local participation.

Caringal refused to give more details, saying their operation was still ongoing.

“Drug cases are very complicated. We don’t want to bungle this. Hopefully, we can file an airtight case,” he said.

Lobregat said the discovery of the clandestine shabu laboratory in the city is a positive result of the vigilance of the people. He commended the police authorities for busting the illegal drug operation.

“There are perhaps more dots to come and would-be links,” he said.

The PDEA said they are filing charges of manufacture of illegal drugs and conspiracy, a non-bailable offense, against the suspects.