EDITORIAL - Pinoy narcos

The huge proceeds from the illegal drug trade are well known, attracting players who are ready to kill and be killed over the money.

Cross-border drug trafficking is big business, requiring massive amounts of financing and extensive organization. The recent drug bust in Laos, which prevented the shipment of 512 kilos of shabu to the Philippines, has raised questions on who were behind the smuggling attempt, particularly who bankrolled the operation.

Laotian authorities, tipped off about the drug smuggling, seized a private chartered jet with the shabu at the Luang Prabang International Airport on Oct. 1. Among those apprehended was a Filipino resident of Marawi City, Dibaroson Fahad.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla identified the alleged financier of the operation as Edrieza Hadji Nasser Rimbang, husband of the sister of Fahad’s wife.

Rimbang served as a parliament member under the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, but lost in the recent parliamentary election in the autonomous region. He allegedly paid for the $49,500 via bank transfer for chartering the private jet.

Aside from Rimbang and Fahad, nine other people were tagged by Remulla as persons of interest in the case. Among them is a member of the police Aviation Security Group, executive master sergeant Aileen Jayne Manalo Mendoza, who allegedly arranged the arrival hangar in Manila for the jet from Laos. Mendoza has been placed under restrictive custody in the AVS. Remulla said the shipment was consigned to Abdulkarim Macalatas.

Probers are reportedly pursuing possible links of the 11 persons of interest to a group based in Davao, where Rimbang’s gang is believed to maintain logistical fronts.

Days after the Laos drug seizure, over a ton of shabu was intercepted by authorities in Thailand on a boat reportedly also bound for the Philippines. Six men were arrested.

Such high-stakes cross-border drug trafficking cannot proceed without some protection from persons of influence. Drug money engenders corruption, allowing criminals to undermine elections and get away with murder.

Philippine authorities must move quickly to break up this drug trafficking network, ensuring that any protector in government will be caught and punished. The last thing the country needs is to be seen as narcos’ paradise.