ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Chinese operator of a shabu laboratory busted four days ago is a member of six international drug ring syndicates, police said yesterday.
Senior Superintendent Manuel Barcena, city police chief, said a manhunt has been launched to capture Chinese national Wang Li Yang, 48, who managed to slip out of this city.
Combined police and narcotics agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) discovered the shabu laboratory Friday in the remote village of Lamisahan east of the city proper.
Villagers led the authorities to the shabu lab after complaining of obnoxious odor from the secluded compound and water dumped into the creek.
Police recovered several small drums containing ephedrine, a chemical used in making shabu, and a hydrogenation apparatus.
Three Filipino caretakers who were brought to the court for inquest Monday claimed that the compound was utilized for tire recapping.
Barcena said a series of police raids led to the discovery of the shabu lab where the initial stage of shabu production was done with the half-processed illegal drug transported to another lab for refining.
Police believed that a huge shabu shipment might have been brought out of the city since the laboratory had been operating for years.
A van was traced to an apartment owned by another Chinese national. However, the owner, whose name was withheld, denied knowledge of the shabu operation, except that he knew Wang as an occupant.