3 drug suspects yield P7-M ‘shabu’ disguised as Chinese tea

DRUG CACHEPolice Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Metro police chief, inspects the packets of drugs seized from three suspects in Manila on Monday. —NCRPO PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A kilo of “shabu” (crystal meth) worth almost P7 million that was disguised as refined Chinese tea was seized from three persons believed to be connected to a drug syndicate operating in Metro Manila and Cavite province.

Members of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO-RDEU) arrested Rudy Kidlat, 20; Mark Anthony Alcantara, 32, and Rona Valenzuela, 37, near the corner of Vito Cruz Street and Osmeña Highway in Manila around 1 a.m. on Monday.

According to Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, NCRPO chief, the suspects were being used as couriers by a criminal gang connected to a group of Chinese nationals and Muslims engaged in the illegal drug trade.

Eleazar said the suspects sold 500 grams of shabu to an undercover operative for P1 million inside a red Suzuki Swift. After their arrest, the police found another 500 g inside the vehicle.

The drugs worth about P6.8 million were hidden in foil packs with the name “Guanyinwang Refined Chinese Tea,” Eleazar noted.

The same packaging was used to hide P10 million worth of shabu seized by NCRPO-RDEU operatives two weeks ago from a 65-year-old man in Pateros.

It was also used by Chinese nationals caught with P1.1 billion worth of drugs inside the posh Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa in March.

“Based on our previous operations, drugs coming from China were [smuggled into] our country by hiding these in these low-key tea bags,” Eleazar said.