‘Videoke bar’ outside, cocaine session inside

Its customers could only get in if “invited.” To the police, that was the red flag.

A raid on a videoke bar in Pasay City led to the arrest of 20 Taiwanese and Chinese nationals who allegedly used the place for drug sessions, police said on Tuesday.

Armed with a search warrant issued by the Pasay Regional Trial Court, members of the Southern Police District swooped down on Blue Bird KTV bar at Lifestyle 2 Building of the Hobbies of Asia Mall on Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard early Saturday, according to a police report released March 26.

Chief Insp. Marlon Quimno, the leader of the raiding team, said some of the customers were caught in the act of sniffing cocaine. “They were all surprised. They didn’t know that the police could touch the place,” Quimno said in a phone interview.

“The management of the bar only accepts customers who have an invitation. That fact alone made their business appear dubious,” he said.

Most of the arrested foreigners—including nine women—were engaged in drug sessions in seven VIP rooms at the bar, Quimno said.

The Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were identified as Shih Chia Chiu, 53, the manager of the bar; Hung Jui Liu, 43; Xing Luo Song, 26; Chen Hao, 27; Yuan Feng Liao, 31; Yu Feng Lin, 37; Yen Ting Kuo, 24; Ho Jin Long, 32; Wan Fu Wu; Hung Chen Lun, 28; and Chung Ming Wang, 33.

Police identified the arrested women as Ye Xiao, 21; Liu Xue Yu, 38; Di Ying Tan, 26; Jiang Shuang, 26; Guo Hui, 25; Xia Yang,  25; Nai Hua Chen, 30; Hua Zhang Ming, 25; Huang Li Rui, 34;

Most of them were staying in posh hotels in the cities of Makati and Pasay, police said.

The foreigners were detained at the SPD headquarters and underwent inquest proceedings on Monday in the Pasay prosecutor’s office for violating Sections 6 and 7 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 which penalizes those who visit or maintain a drug den.

The owner of the bar—identified as Simpson Ong Sim, a Filipino-Chinese businessman—was not present when the raiders came but was included in the charge sheet. The videoke bar was ordered closed.

Quimno said his team recovered sachets of a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine, as well as drug paraphernalia.

The drug raid on Saturday was a result of a three-month surveillance of the area, he said. The operation acted on a tip from a concerned citizen and was carried out with the help of an insider who had regular access to the bar.

SPD director Chief Supt. Jose Erwin Villacorte said investigators were still checking how the bar’s Filipino-Chinese owner managed to secure a business permit.