DOJ wants Interpol to help locate Lim

CEBU, Philippines —  Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday said “it is about time” that they seek the help of the International Police (Interpol) to locate the whereabouts of alleged drug lord Peter Go Lim.

Since it is possible that Lim managed to slip out of the country, Guevarra said they would ask the Interpol to include Lim’s name in its Red Notice.

“Aside from intensifying efforts on the part of our intelligence and law enforcement agents to track down Peter Go Lim, we may also request the Interpol to assist if there are indeed indications that this fugitive has slipped out of our country,” he added.

The Justice Secretary said that while the Bureau of Immigration (BI) might have no records that Lim has left the country, he is not discounting the possibility that the Cebu-based businessman might have left using the “backdoor”.

“Per BI records, there is no record of departure by Peter Go Lim. His last recorded foreign travel was in 2017,” Guevarra said.

Lim’s passport expired in 2019 and there is an active hold departure order (HDO) issued against him in 2018. However, the DOJ Chief could not be certain of Lim’s whereabouts. He might have used the Mindanao route to slip out of the country.

“We cannot really be sure. Our country has a very extensive coastline. There are known backdoors in our southern borders,” he added.

Guevarra shared information on Lim after Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said that Lim has already left the country.

On the part of the BI, its spokesperson Dana Mengote-Sandoval said, “We note that Peter Lim has numerous namesakes, with at least one having left the country recently. However, upon thorough verification with our system, as well as document matching, Mr. Peter Go Lim, the subject of news articles, has no recent departure record as of date.”

The BI’s information is limited to the airports and seaports. “If he used a fraudulent passport, then our equipment would be able to detect it.”

 Lim is allegedly one of the suppliers of another drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa. He was reportedly listed in the order of battle of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). He was indicted by the DOJ on charges of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading. — Philstar News Service, FPL (FREEMAN)