THE top drug lord in Eastern Visayas, Kerwin Espinosa Jr., had undergone plastic surgery and changed his name to conceal his identity before police in Abu Dhabi arrested him on Sunday night, police said Tuesday.
Espinosa traveled under the name of “Rolan Espinosa” instead of his true given name of Rolando, information from the Abu Dhabi travel agency that he used showed.
The travel agent said Espinosa and his family applied for a three-month visa. He was with his wife and three children, all aged 4 or below, when they arrived in Abu Dhabi in September.
Espinosa was arrested Sunday night after a Filipino overseas worker tipped off the police.
Philippine National Police spokesman Sr. Supt. Dionardo Carlos said they have yet to coordinate with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in Manila to determine the particulars of Espinosa’s travel documents.
Carlos said Espinosa’s father had told the police that had his face altered to make him look younger.
Abu Dhabi police authorities are investigating who helped Espinosa while he was in the country.
The PNP did not seem to know Tuesday when Espinosa could be sent back to the Philippines.
The Philippines has no extradition treaty with the UAE.
If Espinosa is found to have committed a crime in the UAE, he cannot be immediately sent back to the Philippines because he wil have to face charges there, first.
In a radio interview, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Constancio Vingno Jr. said Espinosa, also known as “Boss K” among drug dealers, must have had help from a Abu Dhabi resident to hide out in a flat some 20 to 30 minutes away from the Philippine embassy.
“He was renting a flat there,” Vingno said in an interview with radio dzMM. “That’s not possible since he is not a resident here, he’s only a visitor, so somebody might have rented that or lent it to him.”
The ambassador added that he was in touch with Filipino police who were in Abu Dhabi, and that all the information he knew of the case came from them.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the repatriation of Espinosa would depend on the UAE’s legal process.
“His case is a police matter, unlike a case of repatriating an OFW, so it has to go thru UAE’s legal process,” Jose said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday that Espinosa could shed light on the so-called blue book to prove that Senator Leila de Lima took drug money from the his Visayas operation.
“The chief of police of Albuera was the only one talking about it [the blue book]. But we’ll have to hear from Espinosa himself,” said Lacson
“If he will talk and will implicate not necessarily [De Lima] but other government and police officials, there must be something to it,” Lacson said.
The Justice department has said it is considering using Espinosa as a possible witness against De Lima.
“If he passes the assessment of the Witness Protection Program, then we are going to offer immunity to Kerwin,” Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said.
Aguirre said Espinosa may consider spilling the beans on his alleged links to De Lima, who is facing preliminary investigation before the Justice Department for allegedly conspiring with other former officials to collect drug money from high-profile inmates in the New Bilibid Prison. With Sara Susanne Fabunan and Macon Ramos-Araneta
