P20-M high-grade shabu seized in mall

MANILA, Philippines - At least four kilos of high-grade shabu, with a street value of P20 million, was seized from a Chinese man during a drug bust at a mall in Baclaran, Parañaque City yesterday afternoon.

Superintendent Prudencio Tom Bañas, chief of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Force (AIDSOTF), said Beni Chua-Ang, a native of Xiamen, has been charged with violating the anti-illegal drug law before the city prosecutor’s office.

Bañas said the bust took place at around 1 p.m. at the basement parking area of the Uniwide Coastal Mall. He said Chua-Ang was in a white RAV4 (ZKL-391) when he allegedly sold one pack of shabu to a poseur buyer under the supervision of Superintendent Ismael Fajardo.

“Napakaganda ng klase ng shabu (The shabu was high quality). We are checking his connection and source of the illegal drugs,” Bañas told The STAR. A pack contains approximately a kilo of shabu.

He said police officers recovered three more packs from Chua-Ang’s vehicle, on which a license plate from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Community Investigative Support (CIDG-CIS) was attached. They also recovered a cell phone, marked money and P1,400 from Chua-Ang.

Bañas said they will hunt down Chua-Ang’s companions since investigators believe he cannot operate on his own. He added that he will check the vehicle’s records with the CIDG since Chua-Ang, who has been in the country for about five years, said he merely borrowed the RAV4 from a friend.