De Lima: 2 assassins out vs Mexican drug cartel members

MANILA, Philippines - The Mexican drug cartel operating in the Philippines has sent two assassins to neutralize its arrested members, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said.

Citing an intelligence report received by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), De Lima alerted authorities to thwart the plan of the hitmen from Canada.

De Lima said the communiqué recently arrived from Canada and was backed by a United States report.

Related: 2 nabbed for drugs in Taguig condo raid

She added that the Bureau of Immigration  has the names and photos of the alleged assassins from the International Criminal Police Organization or INTERPOL.

The assassins were said to have past records of murder and drug trafficking.

De Lima, however, admitted that authorities may face difficulties in detecting which backdoor entry points the professional killers may use to enter the country.

Canadian James Clayton Riach and Filipino-Canadian Barry Espadilla were earlier arrested in a Taguig City condominium.

Seized in the residential unit were millions of pesos worth of cocaine, shabu and ecstasy pills.

The NBI said in a previous report that state investigators are going after Mexicans suspected to be bringing illegal drugs into the country.

The cartel identified is part of the Sinoloa group of northwestern Mexico.