More Aurora town execs probed on shabu lab

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez disclosed that authorities are investigating the alleged involvement of more local officials in the shabu laboratory that was raided last Wednesday in Dingalan, Aurora.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is investigating the alleged involvement of acting Vice Mayor Edgar Liu of Dingalan who had already sent surrender feelers to the authorities.

"Investigators would consider the responsibility of more local officials. There are so many pieces of equipment transported to a specific area and I do not believe that even barangay officials do not know anything about this. The protectors should be held responsible," Gonzalez said.

NBI director Nestor Mantaring assured the public that they would conduct further investigation and uncover others who were involved in the illegal activity.

"This shabu laboratory would not exist without the help of local officials because they are Chinese-looking and do not know how to speak Tagalog, in short they are takaw pansin kaya dapat magduda ka na," he said.

Gonzalez expressed confidence that the arrest of the four Chinese nationals, including the shabu lab’s chemist, will lead to the apprehension of more members of foreign drug syndicates.

Gonzalez said the arrest of the Chinese chemist is the first time a foreign chemist of a shabu lab was apprehended in the country.

NBI agents swooped down on the shabu lab inside the Jonathan Resort in Barangay Butas na Bato, Dingalan town, where over P5 million worth of finished shabu was seized.

"This is big, if not one of the largest drug raids in recent months. This is significant because we got the chemist; in previous drug raids, the chemist always got away. We are confident that we can discover more of these (shabu labs) and neutralize those who want to make this country a center for illegal drugs," Gonzalez said.

The four arrested Chinese suspects were chemist Ong Tua Ti, Zhi Qu, Zhin Na, and Xian Tian and driver Francisco Ramos, who is reportedly a municipal employee.

The foreign nationals, believed to be citizens of the People’s Republic of China, reportedly failed to produce any passport or valid documents. Three of them, except for Zhin, cannot speak English or Filipino.

NBI regional director Ruel Lasala, chief of the NBI’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force, said the suspects even offered the raiding team P10-million bribe to release Ong.

The three other Chinese suspects were apparently laboratory helpers.

Lasala said the suspects will be charged with drug trafficking or violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

He said the suspects might be mixing the shabu chemicals on board a ship or a boat while cruising in the open sea.

Lasala admitted that the raiding team only uncovered part of a major shabu manufacturing operation.

"At the resort, they were only doing the phase three in drug manufacturing — purification and crystallization. We have yet to find where they conducted the first and second phases or where they mixed the precursors or the chemicals. We suspect that there is a major shabu laboratory aside from the resort," he said.

The NBI said the seizure of a mixer, boxes of red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid and fumes’ hood indicates that the suspects could be planning to put up another shabu lab in the area.

The suspects were reportedly operating for the past three months and the NBI conducted month-long surveillance and later secured a search warrant from Executive Judge Reynaldo Ros of the Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 33.

NBI agents uncovered the Dingalan shabu lab after pursuing leads they had gathered from the raids on other shabu labs in Meycauayan, Bulacan and in Pilar and Mariveles, Bataan in December 2004. — With Eileen Peñaflor