Cops nab 9 men in raids on illegal drugs

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna — Police arrested seven foreigners and two Filipinos in raids on two suspected illegal drug factories yesterday, an official said.

Informants tipped off authorities on the location of a house allegedly used to manufacture methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as “shabu,” said police Director Jefferson Soriano, head of the anti-drugs task force. He said two Filipinos, four Chinese, a Singaporean and a Malaysian were arrested after surveillance that started in April. They included the alleged Chinese mastermind of the operation and his Filipino financier.

Senior Superintendent Benjie Magalong, Director for Special Enforcement Service of PDEA identified the suspects as chemists Soong Foo Siong, a Singaporean and Chin Soon Goon, Malaysian national ; Jameson Go Ang ; Ng Tou Heoung, Macau resident ; Cosani Panarabon Datimbang of Marawi City ; Abdul Gafar Sola Bonsalagan of Taguig City and Bruce Esteban Ong alias Michael Tan as the alleged mastermind. Magalong said his men swooped down at an old residential house at 143 Langka St. Barangay Pagsawitan in Sta Cruz town at around 10:10 a.m. and yielded millions worth of drug chemicals used in manufacturing large volume of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and arrested the six suspects.

The raids were authorized by virtue of search warrants issued by Judge Jaime Salazar of Regional Trial Court Branch 103 of Quezon City.

Almost simultaneously, the police raided  another house inside the Paradise Resort, Barangay Pinagsanjan, Pagsanjan, Laguna and likewise arrested Ng Tou Heoung and seized drug production equipment.

The three were cornered inside a warehouse raided by combined PDEA and Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) agents at Barangay Pagsawitan, Sta. Cruz town at about 10 a.m. Seized inside the warehouse were containers filled with raw chemicals used in the manufacture of shabu.

PDEA deputy chief for operations, retired police chief Superintendent Rodolfo Caisip said the alleged leader of the drug ring was identified as Bruce Samson Ong, a Filipino-Chinese, who was arrested inside the warehouse along with a Chinese interpreter Jimson Go Ong and two Filipino-Muslim runners.

Another warehouse also in Pinagsanjan, which was covered by a search warrant issued by Quezon City Judge Jaime Salazar when raided yielded negative result.

“We are still conducting an inventory. We can’t say the estimated amount out of the seized chemicals  we have seized,” Caisip said as he described the two raided warehouses as a medium-size shabu manufacturing and storage facilities.

He also said the combined raiders failed to recover finished shabu products in the two warehouses, apparently because these illegal drugs have already been shipped to the market before the raid was carried out.

Caisip also said the presence of the shabu laboratory in Laguna only bolstered suspicions that big-time drug rings in the country have shifted their manufacturing and distribution operations from Metro Manila to the provinces.

Further, in an interview with The Star, Magalong said the raid yielded chemicals such as hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, barium sulphate, ephedrine, red phosphorous , theonyl chloride, Iodine, Methanol, Ethanol, iodized salt and equipment such as hydrogenated pump, receiving flash, hydrogen cylinder, centrifuge and dryer.

“The chemicals were placed in plastic containers, others were packed in plastic bags,” he said.

“They are now using the  Nagae method of production which can produce 150 to 200 kilos of drugs per month,” Magalong told The Star adding that the drugs is intended for local distribution.

Magalong said the syndicate could be a member of the international drug ring that started its operation last June.

“ Actually, we were able to monitor them on their developing stage palang hanggang sa mahuli namin sila ngayon,” Magalong said. “They were about to go full blast, iniintay na lang nila ang shipment from abroad,” he added.

Magalong said they named the operation against the group as “ Operation White Water” of which they later formed a corroborative plan with the AIDSOTF, which apparently had its own case build-up and survaillance against the group.      – With Ed Amoroso, AP