The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has arrested five Hong Kong nationals allegedly linked to the 14K or the Hong Kong Triad international drug syndicate operating a kitchen-type shabu laboratory in a condominium unit in Pasay City.
Director General Aaron Aquino led the raid on the Pasay condominium on the strength of a search warrant, and seized 80 kilos of shabu with an estimated value of P544 million and other chemicals and drug equipment after a four-month long surveillance.
“We have noticed that they are bringing in big luggages [which we believed stuffed with shabu] inside this condo unit. Our conclusion is that they are smuggling into our country crystalized shabu. They then repackage it here,” Aquino said.
He said the clandestine laboratory could produce 40 to 50 kilos of shabu every week.
PDEA agents conducted a buy-bust operation at Aseana Power Station along Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City at around 5 am and nabbed chemists Lam King Wah, 35, and Wong Ka Lok, 38.
The duo yielded two kilos of shabu worth P13.6 million, and 16 liters of chemicals.
Four hours later, the same operatives conducted another operation that resulted in the arrest of Lam Wing Bun, 52, and Lam Ming Sun, 56, both chemists, in front of the Red Planet Hotel in Manila.
Authorities were able to confiscate from the two arrested Chinese nationals one kilo of shabu worth P6.8 billion.
Another Chinese drug suspect, Lin Hua Sen, 42, was nabbed by the PDEA.
Aquino said a probe on how these Hong Kong nationals were able to bring in shabu into the country is ongoing, but said that it was likely that they are using a backdoor entry in Mindanao or maybe into seaports.
He said the Hong Kong nationals are suspected members of the 14K or Hong Kong Triad drug syndicate.
“I would like to highlight that intelligence and information that led to these succesful operations came from our international counterparts from the Hongkong Narcotics Bureau and the Office of the National Narcotics Control Commission of China. This is actually a product of our enhanced cooperation and collaboration,” Aquino said. With PNA
