Name discrepancy delays case vs suspected Sinaloan drug cartel leader

Suspected Sinaloan drug syndicate leader Horacio Herrera at the Department of Justice. Tetch Torres-Tupas/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The preliminary investigation of a suspected Sinaloan drug cartel leader was reset to give the defense time to file a counteraffidavit that will clear up confusion on his identity.

During Thursday’s inquiry, the suspect said his real name is Horacio Hernandez Herrera, which differs from “Horacio Herrera Hernandez” indicated in the complaint filed by authorities.

Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera granted the request of the defense to have more time to submit the counteraffidavit and reset the preliminary investigation on January 27.

“In criminal cases, identity is important. The state would not want to commit a mistake as to the identity,” Henry Araneta, the suspect’s lawyer, told reporters.

Herrera was arrested in a buy-bust operation wherein P12-million worth of cocaine was seized by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (PNP-AIDSOTF).

Araneta said Herrera could prove his identity with his passport but it was not among the items turned over by the authorities.

“We already coordinated for his things. Unfortunately, among the inventory that were turned over (by authorities) to our possession, it did not include the passport,” the lawyer said.

“There are allegations in the story of the respondent himself that need also proof and we have to establish that because [the authorities] also have proof and we have to overcome that,” Araneta said.

The lawyer said Herrera arrived in the country in October 2013 to put up an air-water business and a Mexican restaurant.

Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia, legal division head of PNP-AIDSOTF, earlier tagged Herrera as the “number three or four in the (Sinaloa) cartel’s hierarchy.”

The Sinaloa drug cartel is the world’s most powerful drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime syndicate that operates in the United States, Australia, Europe, West Africa, the Philippines and other Asian countries.

The existence of Sinaloa drug cartel, described as a ruthless and well-entrenched drug cartel in Latin America, was confirmed in 2013 following a raid in Lipa City which yielded more than half a billion-peso worth of illegal drugs.

The state prosecutor said Herrera was first brought to the Department of Justice for inquest proceedings for violation of Section 5 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of any dangerous drugs).

The suspect, however, manifested through his lawyer that he wanted a regular preliminary investigation instead of an inquest proceedings so that he could submit his counteraffidavit.

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