It started with a P300,000 transaction for the purchase of shabu by Manila policemen posing as buyers, but it ended in a big buy-bust operation with the discovery of P100 million worth of the illegal substance concealed in a black bag inside the suspects’ car.
On top of that haul, policemen arrested two men who they called “high-value” suspects, allegedly members of the Binondo Connection Drug Syndicate after the buy-bust operation conducted by the anti-illegal drugs unit of Manila Police District (MPD) Station 11 and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). Police identified the arrested suspects as Albert Gasingan, 36, and Rommel Rodriguez, 38, both residents of Parañaque City.
Gasingan and Rodriguez were presented to the media yesterday morning by the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) Director Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde and MPD Director Senior Supt. Joel Coronel.
Coronel said the arrest was the result of a meticulous investigation on leads provided by a suspect who was arrested in a buy-bust operation on Masangkay Street, Binondo, last Oct. 26. In that operation, police seized P50 million worth of illegal drugs composed of 15 kilograms of sodium hydrochloride and five kilograms of shabu.
Initial investigation on the buy-bust operation yesterday showed that the authorities arrested Gasingan and Rodriguez after they agreed to sell P300,000 worth of shabu to a police posing as a buyer at around 4:30 a.m. on Tambakan Street.
After the arrest, police found 20 kilograms of suspected shabu inside a black bag in the Mitsubishi Mirage that the suspects were driving. The suspected shabu has a street value of P100 million, police said.
“Nakalagay sa plastic (resealable), na binalutan ng carbon paper saka ibinalot sa foil yung mga shabu. Na inilagay sa maleta. Kaya mapapansin nyo na marumi yung plastic. Parang galing sa ibang bansa ito at dinala lang dito sa Pilipinas, bine-verify pa natin yan. O baka ibibiyahe rin ito sa abroad, para hindi ma-detect ng x-ray machine (The substance, which was wrapped in carbon paper and foil, was placed inside resealable plastic bags. It looked like it came from abroad and we are now confirming that),” Albayalde said.
Police also recovered a caliber .45 pistol and the marked money used in the operation.
Now, authorities are investigating the possible link of Gasingan and Rodriguez to the cases of Barangay Chairman Enrique Echales, of Barangay 296 in Binondo, last October 13, and Chinese national Hua Tian Shi alias ‘Andy Sy’ on Sept. 17. Both were shot to death, police said.
“Malawak ang operasyon ng sindikato nito (Rodriguez and Gasingan). Sila rin yung sinasabing suspek sa pagpatay kina barangay chairman Echales at Andy Sy (This syndicate’s operation is widespread. The two men who were arrested are also the suspects in the killing of Echales and Sy),” Albayalde said.
He said they are now conducting a follow-up investigation to trace the whereabouts of the other members of the syndicate, one of them a certain “Tsekwa” who is included on the drugs watch list of MPD Police Station 11.
Cases for violating R.A. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) and R.A. 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Law) are now being readied against Gasingan and Rodriguez.
The post Shabu Worth P100 M Seized in Buy-Bust Operation of MPD appeared first on Manila Bulletin
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