Suspect tags NBP as source of drugs

SAN PEDRO CITY—A Chinese national arrested for selling illegal drugs claimed his supply comes from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), the national penitentiary embroiled in a series of scandals including the discovery of luxurious suites being maintained by high security inmates.

The arrest of Jessie Loqueno Chua came just as controversies in the national penitentiary refused to die down.

One of the most recent scandals in the national penitentiary is the discovery of alleged special treatment being given to convicted drug lords and other high security prisoners who are allowed to continue their criminal activities from behind bars.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, also on Tuesday, had given the newly sworn-in Bureau of Corrections director, retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, a marching order to rid the NBP of drugs and keep the facility drug-free.

Chua, 40, is from Fookien, China, according to authorities although he carries a Chinese-Filipino sounding name.

He was arrested around 3:30 p.m. on Monday in Imus City, Cavite in a joint operation by the city police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Central Luzon (Region 3).

In a phone interview, Imus City police chief Supt. Redrico Maranan said Chua was arrested inside the posh District Mall while attempting to sell shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) to undercover anti-narcotic agents.

Recovered from Chua was a kilogram of shabu, contained in large ziplock bags and worth P1.5 million, said Maranan.

In a separate phone interview, PDEA Central Luzon director Jeff Tacio said several prior arrests were made in Central Luzon that helped them track down Chua in Cavite.

Chua has been been living in Barangay (village) Anabu in Imus City with an unidentified Filipina partner for the last three years, Maranan said.

A source privy to the operation said Chua had told investigators that the drugs that were seized from him came from one inmate at the NBP, which is known in street lingo as Muntinlupa, referring to the city south of Manila where the NBP is located.

“When he was asked, he said (it came from) ‘Muntinlupa’ from a certain Raymund Chua,” the source said.

“Allegedly, that was where he sourced (the shabu),” said Tacio, confirming the source’s information.