MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency took a step further in its charges against the so-called “Alabang Boys” on Saturday and linked them to a drug syndicate that sold illegal drugs in Baguio City and the Metro Manila club circuit.

PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago said Richard Santos Brodett, Jorge Jordana Joseph, and Joseph Ramirez Tecson were part of a “cell” in drug operations that brought Ecstasy to high-end clubs and bars around Metro Manila and supplied the same to as far as Baguio City.

“They have their own areas of coverage. They are part of a cell that has one area of operation and also goes online [to do business],” Santiago told the Inquirer in a telephone interview Saturday.

Santiago said this after baring an alleged P50-million bribe for the Department of Justice's dismissal of drug charges against the three boys, who were arrested in buy-bust operations in Quezon City and Ayala Alabang on September 20.

The trio, whose camp vehemently denied the bribe claim, are still detained in PDEA's custodial center in Quezon City as the agency maintained it should keep custody of the accused pending a DoJ reinvestigation of the case. Prosecutors had found no probable cause to bring the case to trial.

In revelations he also made on radio on Saturday, Santiago said members of the group, particularly Tecson, were involved in events organizing and turned concerts and other social gatherings into opportunities to peddle the group's supply of drugs.

“They have international connections, they [are involved in] concerts... That's why my appeal for parents is to watch over their kids especially when going to these events, they might be having a concert or something else,” said Santiago, careful not to name clubs and bars where the boys allegedly sold drugs.

Citing information gathered about the group, Santiago identified Brodett as a “level 2” man who was right next to the top echelon in the hierarchy. He did not expound on the so-called big bosses, however.

But the boys' lawyer warned PDEA against making claims unless it had evidence.

“I hope they have evidence to prove that. Their statements are getting more and more extreme. They should have proof to back that up,” said Jacqueline Verano, counsel for Tecson and Brodett.

All the boys are in their 20s, said Verano: Brodett is 25, Tecson is 23, and Joseph, 22.

“At 25 years old, to be a supplier? It's hard to believe they're hardened criminals. It's impossible for their age,” Verano said by phone.

“Is it possible that at these ages, they would already have a network of buyers and be able to influence the drug market? Highly unlikely,” Verano said in a separate e-mail.

Verano had earlier denied PDEA's bribery claim and said the agency's case was a losing one from the start as the September 20 buy-bust was an “illegal operation.”

“It was a buy-bust, yes, but an illegal buy-bust. Even if they have evidence, that becomes inadmissible if the evidence was obtained illegally,” Verano told the Inquirer on the phone on Saturday.

She said the boys' constitutional rights were violated during the arrest as agents opened fire and failed to read them their rights. Verano also said, citing PDEA's own admission, that the agents entered upscale Ayala Alabang illegally.

Asked to comment, Santiago said: “That's always they're reason. They will cite you on a technicality.”

He also explained that agents only decided to fire at Brodett's car as the suspect was about to ram a PDEA vehicle and the agents’ security perimeter. The suspect, the one “in control” of the goods, had allegedly engaged agents in a 15-minute chase after PDEA announced the buy-bust.

Joseph, who had already gotten out the car supposedly to make the deal with PDEA's poseur-buyer, was already in custody at the time of the chase, Santiago said. Tecson was arrested in a followup operation at the Araneta Center hours later.

Admitting his men fired shots, Santiago said: “He (Brodett} was about to ram his car into the agents.... The choice [for the agents] was whether to jump out of the car or stop it.”

Asked why PDEA would accuse his clients of bribery if there was none, Verano said: “They have not gotten any big fish, that's why they're showing off that they're doing something. I think they're just trying to get recognition, that's why they're using this.”

The trio's lawyers are preparing charges of arbitrary detention against PDEA for keeping the boys with no charge.

“They should be released during automatic review, that's because, as of today, there's no charge. The boys should be out in the meantime,” said Verano.

PDEA had earlier invoked a DoJ memorandum on case reviews for keeping the boys and said it obliged them to hold detainees pending a reinvestigation.