Broker of P2-B ephedrine shipment to spill beans

In a bid to save himself from the death penalty, the broker of the seized P2-billion shipment of ephedrine said he is willing to spill the beans against Customs officials allegedly involved in smuggling operations.

But suspect Jelly Laurente has yet to provide officials of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Task Force (AID-SOTF) with new "earth-shaking" information that would prompt his inclusion in the government’s witness protection program and be spared from the death chamber.

"He (Laurente) is now singing like a canary. But even though he is very eager to turn himself into a state witness, we cannot do so because we can convict him and his co-accused with the evidence we have on hand," an AID-SOTF investigator said.

Laurente and six employees and officials of the Premier Sea and Air Cargo Movers Corp. with offices at Escolta, Manila have been charged with drug trafficking and illegal importation of ephedrine, a controlled precursor of shabu, before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The broker told The STar he is willing to turn state witness and "tell all" about smuggling operations at the South Harbor.

"We are interested in the smuggling of illegal drugs and Laurente can become a state witness if he can provide us with details as to how the ephedrine shipment entered the country undetected," said an AID-SOTF official.

The AID-SOTF, led by Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay, got wind of the shipment and had it inspected last Nov. 28, resulting to the recovery of 400 drums of ephedrine worth P2 billion.