Reyes brothers believed to be coddled by Phuket-based ‘drug lord’

PNP-PIO PHOTOS

Former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and ex-Coron mayor Mario Reyes, two of the most wanted fugitives in the Philippines, managed to elude their arrest allegedly with the help of a “drug lord” based in Phuket, Thailand.

The information was disclosed in a report by the Task Force Tugis, a Philippine National Police (PNP) team dedicated to hunt down top fugitives, that had monitored the movement of the suspects in the 2011 killing of Palawan-based broadcaster Gerry Ortega since the Reyes brothers went into hiding in March 2012.

“They were believed to be coddled by a certain Mr. Lim, an alleged drug lord in Phuket, Thailand,” a portion of the report said.

When asked if the police had information on the alleged protectors of the Reyeses in Thailand, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group head Police Director Victor Deona said: “We don’t have information about [their] coddlers.”

READ: From Crame, Reyes brothers to be flown to Palawan

In a press briefing on Friday, Deona, together with Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento and PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez, presented to the media the arrested brothers in Camp Crame. They were arrested last Sunday by Thai immigration for their expired visas.

‘Operation Jeepney’

Last August 25, 2014, Tugis representatives met with Thai police and immigration authorities to discuss the “status of Ortega’s murder case and significant information about the Reyes brothers.”

READ: What went before: The Reyes brothers

The immigration records in Thailand showed that the brothers entered Thailand via MH790 flight on April 16, 2012, almost a month after the arrest warrants for murder were issued against them for allegedly masterminding the killing of Ortega.

The Reyeses had an “overstaying” status as the effectivity of their visa was only until May 15, 2012.

In another conference, the operatives then planned to go to Phuket to check the exact location of a cellphone number monitored at “4028, Karon, Mueang Phuket District.” Despite their monitoring, no leads pointed to the area where the Reyeses were staying.

After several months of surveillance, the Thai Interpol created “Operation Jeepney” for the manhunt against the fugitives.

Outgoing calls to Alabang golf club

The technical team of Thai Interpol tried anew to locate the source of a certain cellphone number that could have been used by the Reyeses. It was traced to Soi Hinkaaw, Karon, Mueang Phuket District where there is a small Filipino community.

“The phone number location was fixed in one place and the phone activities were unusual from time to time. It appears that the user opens the phone only to check incoming messages,” the report said.

Authorities traced the number to have call records to Barangay (village) II and VI Poblacion in Coron, Palawan, Barangay Guyong in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, Alabang Golf and Country Club in New Alabang, Muntinglupa City and to a certain Thai number in Rawai, Mueang.

“After months of stake out and surveillance operations, the Royal Thai Interpol were able to pinpoint the house wherein one of the occupants who looked like Joel Reyes was sighted,” it added.

Acting on the new lead, the local Thai police raided the house but they were able to escape the arrest. After the operatives’ continuous monitoring, the Interpol monitored a Thai number linked to the Reyeses and found that it was located in 3025 Rawai, Mueang. Thai authorities then informed the PNP on the development.

READ: Reyes brothers lived in a villa, drove an SUV as fugitive

Deona revealed in the Crame press conference that the Reyes brothers lived in a villa in Rawai Area in the south of Phuket, the province where the two had been arrested. Julliane Love de Jesus/RAM