Gov’t scores in Mandaue City shabu megalab case

CEBU — "Our efforts finally bore fruit."

Thus said Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco on the decision of a Hong Kong magistrate granting the Philippine government’s petition to extradite Calvin Tan, the suspected ring leader of a huge shabu syndicate busted in Mandaue City in September last year.

"We are very happy about this development... But we will continue to fight because the fight is not yet over. It is still a long way to go. We will not rest until we put people who are responsible for this menace behind bars," said Cuenco in a phone call from Hong Kong Friday night.

Tan has been in the custody of Hong Kong authorities since he was arrested in possession of illegal drugs shortly after anti-narcotics agents swooped down on what was believed to be one of Asia’s biggest shabu laboratories located in Mandaue City.

Eleven people, including eight foreigners, were arrested in those raids and subsequently charged.

The owners of the warehouses used as shabu laboratories, Andy Ng and Richard Ong, were included in the charges. So was Tan.

With Hong Kong finally agreeing to extradite Tan to the Philippines, local officials are ecstatic that the case can now be expedited.

Cuenco, vice chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, has been on the forefront of efforts to bring Tan back to the Philippines to face trial along with the so-called "Shabu 11" as well as Ng and Ong.

Cuenco said Hong Kong Magistrate Ian Candy granted the extradition petition after finding that the Philippine government has built up a strong case against Tan.

Tan, Ng, Ong and the "Shabu" 11 all face criminal charges for the manufacture of illegal drugs before Regional Trial Court Branch 28 in Mandaue City.

The crime carries a penalty of either life imprisonment or death by lethal injection, as well as a fine of P500,000 to P10 million.

Cuenco said the Philippine government, through Hong Kong prosecutor Wayne Walsh, presented the affidavit of Monezza Tamaddoni and Simon Lao, who both tagged Tan as their partner in the manufacture of illegal drugs in Mandaue City, to convince Candy of the strength of the case against Tan.

Tamaddoni is a prosecution witness who has not been included in the charges, while Lao is one of the "Shabu 11" who has been asking the judge handling the case to accept him as a state witness.

The clandestine shabu laboratories uncovered in Mandaue City in a series of raids last Sept. 23 to 24 yielded 675 kilos of high-grade shabu estimated to be worth P1.3 billion.

Chemicals enough to make 15 tons more of the illegal drug were also found, leading authorities to conclude they had busted one of the biggest syndicates in Asia.

Cuenco said Tamaddoni admitted having managed Tan’s businesses and being responsible for the purchase of chemicals needed to make shabu.

Lao, on the other hand, admitted he was responsible for recruiting chemists and other workers for the shabu laboratories.

"Mao nay giingon nga nasyakoy na si Calvin Tan (We can now say that Calvin Tan is in a bind)," Cuenco said after the oral arguments before the Hong Kong magistrate which lasted for more than five hours.

Cuenco, however, said Tan can only be extradited after 15 days, during which he can appeal the magistrate’s decision.

But Cuenco thinks that even if Tan appeals the decision, the Hong Kong Appellate Court will still rule in favor of the Philippine government.

If Tan is found guilty in the Philippines, Cuenco said he may be spared from the death penalty and be made to suffer only life imprisonment since Hong Kong does not recognize the death penalty.

The Hong Kong government made it clear it would only extradite Tan if the Philippines would give assurance that he would not be put to death.

With Cuenco in Hong Kong were Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, state prosecutor Archimedes Manabat, and lawyer Paul Oaminal, who represented the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. — Freeman News Service