Court bars 6 foreigners charged in the P6.4B shabu shipment case

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila Court has issued a hold departure order against six Chinese accused in the P6.4-billion shabu shipment case.

Manila Trial Court Branch 46 Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa on Friday has issued the order against the following accused:

• Chen Julong aka Richard Tan or Richard Chen
• Li Guang Feng aka Manny Li
• Dong Yi Shen aka Kenneth Dong or Yi Shan Dong
• Cheng Rong Huan
• Chen I-Min
• Jhu Ming Jyun

A hold departure order effectively prevents a subject from leaving the country. The order can be issued by a local court against an accused in a criminal case.

The Manila court has granted the motion filed by state prosecutors. They stated: “Being Chinese and Taiwanese citizens, the probability of flight of the above-named accused are strong to escape prosecution, as well as to avoid facing their criminal liability... In fact, the warrants for the arrest of the said accused remain unserved to them,” the fiscals added.

READ: Fiscals seek hold departure order vs traders in P6.4 billion shabu shipment

The six are accused of involvement in the P6.4-billion shabu shipment case that slipped past the Bureau of Customs in May 2017. Mark Taguba, believed to be the fixer in the scheme, is also one of the charged.

Taguba is currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa.

The seven are facing drug importation charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 before the Manila court.

They are also facing a separate case before a Valenzuela court for the delivery and transportation of the cylinders of shabu to a warehouse located in the area.

Immigration spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said that the bureau’s legal team received the court order at around 3:20 p.m. and is currently processing it.

“Upon receipt of the order from the court, the Bureau will immediately implement the HDO and include the names in the Bureau’s database,” Mangrobang added. — with a report from Rey Galupo