Arayat shabu lab shut down by Pampanga cops

Police busted a big shabu laboratory at the foothills of Mt. Arayat in Barangay Lacquios in Arayat town in Pampanga, the second to be discovered since Sept. 7 when an underground shabu laboratory was found in nearby Magalang town. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — A team from the Arayat municipal government stumbled upon a big shabu laboratory while conducting fire safety and sanitary inspections on Thursday (Sept. 22), Mayor Emmanuel Bonifacio Alejandrino said.

Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the municipal hall were surprised to find a clandestine laboratory at what should have been a piggery and corn crusher, a report Alejandrino gave to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency stated.

The laboratory in Barangay Lacquios at the foothills of Mt. Arayat has been shut down by Pampanga policemen.

“It’s the biggest facility to be found so far, with big equipment. This is not a kitchen-type of laboratory,” said Senior Supt. Rodolfo Recomono, provincial police director.

Lacquios is about five kilometers from Barangay Balitucan in Magalang town where PDEA and the police discovered a piggery farm concealing an underground shabu laboratory on Sept. 7. Seven Chinese nationals were arrested there.

The facility at Lacquios was a large warehouse surrounded by trees and shrubs near the Cong Dadong Dam.

This was the second shabu-making factory found in Pampanga. Three others have been found in Angeles City since March.

Recomono said police have been trying to determine any connection between the Balitucan and Lacquios facilities.

Workers at the site fled and are being tracked down by policemen.  SFM/rga

READ: Heavy equipment found at Arayat shabu lab