DOJ OKs raps vs Mexican tagged as Sinaloa’s No. 3
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the filing of criminal charges against a suspected leader of the dreaded Sinaloa international drug cartel who was caught selling P12 million worth of cocaine in a sting operation in January.
Mexican national Horacio Hernandez Herrera, alias “Mex,” is facing trial in the Makati City court after the DOJ junked his claims that he was just a frame-up victim.
In a resolution released on Friday, Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera found probable cause to charge Herrera for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) arrested Herrera on Jan. 11, 2015, at a restaurant in Makati City for selling 2.2 kilos of cocaine to an undercover agent.
The PDEA then described the man as the No. 3 leader of Sinaloa, considered the most dangerous and powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, and said his arrest confirmed that the syndicate had expanded its operations in the Pacific region, including the Philippines.
Members of the cartel are known to be active in 50 countries and also involved in kidnapping, bribery and gun-for-hire operations.
The DOJ dismissed Herrera’s allegations of kidnapping and extortion against members of PDEA and the Philippine National Police, noting that he could not even identify the officers concerned.
Herrera had also pointed to a certain Sarah Nazareno as someone who helped in the frame-up, but later he could not give a detailed physical description of that person, Navera also noted in the resolution.
Records showed that Herrera arrived in the country in October 2013 purportedly to look for investment opportunities.
Two months later, authorities raided a game cock farm in Lipa City and found 84 kilos of “shabu” worth P420 million.
Arrested in the raid were a Chinese-Filipino identified as Gary Tan and locals Argay and Rochelle Argenos, whom police alleged to be keeping the drugs on the farm for the Sinaloa cartel. Nancy C. Carvajal
