Zero tolerance for drug syndicates

The much publicized dawn raid at the New Bilibid Prison revealing the luxurious lifestyle of “very important prisoners” with their air conditioned quarters, Jacuzzis, expensive watches, sex toys and what-have-you had simply confirmed that drug syndicates are more powerful and even wealthier than ever. The joke is, now they’re even into the luxury hotel business with a “captive market.”

“What the hell!” is all people can say. It’s simply mind boggling and alarming that a nationwide drug syndicate could be operating right inside the supposed maximum security compound judging from the presence of drugs, guns, money counting machines, laptops, cellphones, checkbooks, record books with names and corresponding amounts along with millions in cash boxes.

Bureau of Corrections Director Franklin Bucayu conveniently forgets the concept of command responsibility and would rather leave the explaining to the NBP superintendent why the prisoners seem to be ruling the roost, or how drugs and other prohibited items were allowed inside. It’s very obvious that the drug money is making the whole drug operations go round right inside the prison walls. 

A month before the raid, Mindanao Congressmen Rufus and Maximo Rodriguez sounded alarm bells about the flourishing online operations of illegal drug syndicates and asked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a probe, citing information obtained from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime about the growing utilization of the Internet as a conduit for the sale of drugs. Considering the sophisticated technology utilized by these drug site owners and administrators, law enforcement agencies find it very difficult to crack down on these online operations, much less discover the identity of these web-based drug dealers. 

Just a few days ago, PDEA agents intercepted a package containing P2 million worth of shabu hidden inside the soles of ladies’ shoes sent via courier, which can only tell us that illegal drug traders are getting more creative in their operations. However, the recent bust is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  Earlier this year, PDEA disclosed that elements of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico have found their way into the country with plans to set up “joint ventures” with local drug lords to expand their operations.

The notorious Sinaloa is a very powerful and dangerous organized crime syndicate engaged not only in drug trafficking but money laundering and other criminal activities. Since 2006, the Mexican government has been engaged in a war against drug traffickers, the problem compounded by the internecine war between cartels fighting for control of the lucrative drug trade that rakes in as much as $29 billion per year from US sales alone.

From Mexico to Afghanistan to Colombia to Venezuela to Brazil, narco syndicates are relentlessly expanding their operations to increase their share in a lucrative market which, according to the UN world drug report, generates an estimated $400 billion annually. International drug cartels are continually on the lookout for new markets to exploit because of the tightening situation in the West following a major shift in policy and strategy to focus on enforcement and effective targeting of criminal syndicates as seen in the capture of the notorious Sinaloa drug leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in Mexico and the recent sentencing of one of his top lieutenants by a Chicago District judge to 22 years in prison. El Chapo had been on the lam for 13 years after bribing his way out of a Mexican jail before he was finally caught by the combined forces of the US DEA, the US Marshals Service and Mexican military in a special operation last February.

Reports from the US Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report aver that the Philippines has become an important transit point for illegal substances going into East Asia. Clearly, the drug menace is one of the tough challenges faced by the country, and according to OSAC, drug syndicates are exploiting the understaffed and under-resourced law enforcement agencies to put up clandestine shabu laboratories to flood the domestic market, with the country also serving as a transshipment point for drugs coming from Southeast Asia.

PDEA insiders say many of the shabu labs in Metro Manila and Luzon are run by Chinese drug syndicates that have made the country their manufacturing base because China imposes harsh penalties – including the death sentence – on illegal drug traders. The Chinese government has been conducting raids to curb the growing “ice” drug trade and is working with the Australian government to stop the flow of Chinese drugs to Australia. Like China, Indonesia is also strict on drug smuggling. President Joko Widodo has ordered the execution of three convicted drug traffickers by yearend with more lined up next year. Indonesian media has also noted that the people approve of the executions because it shows decisiveness in the war against drugs.

While PDEA has been doubling efforts to bust drug dens and shabu labs, their work can be undermined by highly placed powerful people. The fact is, drug lords have become so wealthy that they can buy anything and everything they want including politicians and law enforcement officials. The discovery of the NBP raid has convinced a majority of Filipinos to agree with Senator Tito Sotto that the death penalty should be revived exclusively for these people who are ruining the lives of many people – rich, poor, and most of all – the youth. There should be zero tolerance for drug syndicates similar to what is practiced in countries like China and Malaysia – because they can literally destroy this country.

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