EDITORIAL - Drug trafficking center

Chinese triads have been operating for a long time in the Philippines, setting up shabu laboratories and turning the country into a major transshipment point for illegal drugs. In recent years, West African drug rings also entered the Philippine market, with several of them using Filipinos as couriers.

So it’s not surprising that a Mexican drug trafficking ring has also reportedly entered the Philippine market. Officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency reported that 84 kilos of shabu seized in Batangas could be traced to Mexico’s Sinaloa drug syndicate, which is headed by one of the world’s most wanted men. The methamphetamine hydrochloride, valued at P420 million, was seized on Christmas Day in a raid on the LPL Ranch in Lipa City. Three persons were arrested by PDEA agents.

The Department of Justice is looking into any possible link between the Mexican drug ring and the owner of the ranch, reportedly former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste, who was recently granted a controversial parole following his conviction for killing his long-time aide. The farm was leased to a certain Jorge Torres.

PDEA officials said that aside from shabu laboratories, prohibited drugs are brought in through the country’s porous borders. With 7,107 islands, it’s tough to police all the possible entry points, the PDEA officials said.

It may be difficult to patrol all possible points of entry, but there can be victories in the campaign against drug trafficking on another front. The illegal drug trade is a multibillion-dollar industry, and the traffickers invest a fortune in buying protection. Anti-narcotics agents, immigration and Customs personnel, local government executives, and even prosecutors and judges have been accused of accepting payoffs from drug traffickers.

Most police raids fail to ferret out the drug traffickers themselves, with only the small fry in the operation being arrested. Notorious drug dealers manage to walk out of detention even from the Philippine National Police headquarters, or else are ordered freed by crooked judges even in cases where bail is not allowed. The accused traffickers also manage to leave the country.

Colombia achieved some success against the drug cartels partly by incorporating into its campaign a fight against corruption and racketeering. The same approach can be taken in the Philippines, especially under the daang matuwid administration.