PNP tells condo owners to background check renters, buyers

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police on Wednesday advised owners of condominiums and subdivisions to conduct first a thorough background check  of buyers and renters  of their properties before closing a deal.

The PNP made the appeal following Wednesday’s raid by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on a condominium unit in Taguig that was turned into a clandestine drug laboratory.

Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia, PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force Legal and Investigation Division chief, said that the authorities would not hesitate to file charges against
owners once it is proven they have knowledge of the illegal activities occurring in their properties.

Two Canadian nationals and a Filipino who allegedly have links to a notorious Mexican drug cartel were arrested in the raid by NBI operatives at dawn Wednesday in Taguig City.

Canadians James Riach and Barry Espadilla and Filipino Tristan Olazo were arrested in the kitchen-type drug laboratory on Unit 301 of The Luxe Residences on 28th Street in Bonifacio Global City, where shabu or metamphetamine hydrochloride, ecstasy and cocaine worth about
millions of pesos were seized.

Merdegia said some high-end condominiums have become safe-houses of illegal drug operators and property owners should now be thorough in checking the background of their renters or buyers.

But since the NBI initiated the operation, Merdegia said the NBI still has the final say on the filing of charges.

Aside from the raid in Taguig, the NBI also swooped down on a condominium unit in Serendra, Makati, and in Manila but only the raid on The Luxe produced a large volume of illegal drugs.

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