P88-M worth of shabu seized in raid

Acting on a tip from an informer, Manila policemen seized 44 kilos of shabu and arrested three Chinese nationals in a raid on a house last Monday in Marilao, Bulacan, police said yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong, head of the Western Police District, said the seized contraband has an estimated street value of P88 million.

"We have been tailing them for a month and we decided to strike when the appropriate time came," Bulaong told reporters.

Investigators are now digging into unconfirmed reports that the drugs were manufactured in a clandestine shabu factory in nearby Valenzuela City that was busted by police anti-narcotics agents a week ago.

Bulaong said they swooped in after one of the suspects, identified as Joey Lim, sold a kilo of shabu for P2 million to a police officer posing as a buyer.

Lim surrendered peacefully. Nelson Go and his brother Charlie were arrested when they visited Lim at the height of the raid.

The two brothers denied they were involved in drug trafficking but they refused to tell police why they were visiting Lim. Lim refused to cooperate with investigators, police said.

A search of the bedroom yielded 43 kilos of shabu hidden in boxes containing cheap imported Chinese glassware, as well as chemicals used for manufacturing the drug, Bulaong said.

Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, Central Luzon regional police chief, said they are now trying to determine if Lim has links to a shabu factory in Valenzuela City that was raided by police on Nov. 11. — With Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe