‘Drug gangs using bank-to bank transactions’

MANILA, Philippines — Drug syndicates are now using the country’s banking institutions in their illicit activities, the police Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) said yesterday.

Lt. Col. Cherrylou Donato, DEG spokesperson, said drug rings use bank-to-bank transactions with buyers to avoid detection by law enforcement agencies.

“The drug syndicate will establish a legitimate bank account that can be used as their portal account,” Donato said in her presentation during an online general meeting of the members of anti-crime watchdog Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order.

At least three banking institutions were included in Donato’s presentation.

With a legitimate bank account, syndicates would be able to keep the police at bay for a period of time, the police official said.

A broker of the syndicate will transact with a drug buyer. Once an agreement is reached, the buyer will then deposit the money to their bank account.

The syndicate will then call the bank to confirm if payment was made, Donato said.

Drug traffickers will then use hotels and even grocery baggage counters as pick-up points for the illegal drugs.

The drug trade is still lucrative in the country despite the government’s crackdown. A gram of shabu has a market value ranging from P1,400 to P9,000, according to the DEG.

The party drug ecstasy, meanwhile, is worth P1,200 to P3,000 per tablet while marijuana is still the cheapest with a price tag of P18 to P300 for every gram.

P.8-M mail-order weed

The Bureau of Customs seized a parcel containing 500 grams of high-grade marijuana sent from abroad and arrested Kevin dela Cruz when he claimed the package on Friday, the BOC reported yesterday.

The parcel was declared as a “4m kids labs remote control detector robot kit” shipped by Toynk Toys from Markham, Canada, the BOC said.

In Quezon City, at least 500 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu valued at P3.4 million were confiscated from Arnel Corre, 24, and Dionisio Infante, 23, during a sting along Batasan Road in Barangay Batasan Hills at around 1 p.m. yesterday.