Drug lord to rat on big names

Suspected drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr. will identify at least 12 more big-time names in the drug trade, all of which are top government and military officials, according to former whistleblower Sandra Cam.

In a media forum in Quezon City on Tuesday, Cam said this information was obtained by a Philippine National Police team who interrogated Espinosa in Abu Dhabi, where he was nabbed on Oct. 17 a tip-off from an oversea Filipino worker there.

“There are sitting governors, congressmen… and even military generals,” Cam said, calling them “big fish.”

“I already know the names, but I do not want to preempt the chief of the Philippine National Police,” she said.

Espinosa is tagged as Eastern Visayas’ biggest drug lord. His father, Albuera, Leyte, Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., is currently detained at the Leyte subprovincial jail for illegal possession of firearms and drugs.

Cam also disclosed that the tipster who led to Espinosa’s arrest was an employee of her trading and cleaning services company in the Middle Eastern country.

She recounted that on the evening of Oct. 8, she received a message from her female secretary, asking her to call as soon as possible.

“She did not sound scared; she even sounded happy, excited, that she saw Espinosa,” Cam said of her staff member, whose identity she did not disclose.

Confirmed by staff

The self-confessed jueteng bagwoman said she asked her employee to send a photograph of the suspected drug lord via Viber to confirm his identity. She subsequently received a photo of Espinosa, who was pictured with a Filipina nurse whom she refused to identify, in an Indian store.

It turned out that her staff and Espinosa were staying in the same building.

“She recognized him through the Filipino news channel,” Cam said, noting that she personally did not know Espinosa or how he looks like.

Cam said she instructed her employee to go to the Abu Dhabi immigration bureau and confirm whether Espinosa was indeed in the country.

Espinosa’s visa records, which Cam shared to reporters, bared that he traveled to several countries before staying in Abu Dhabi. On July 3, Espinosa flew from Malaysia to Thailand. He stayed there until the 14th, where he left for Abu Dhabi for the first time.

After five days, Cam said the alleged drug lord flew back to Bangkok, and then from Phuket, Thailand, to Hong Kong on July 23. On July 31, he reportedly flew from Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi, where he stayed until he was nabbed by authorities.

Upon confirming his identity, Cam said she immediately called Christopher “Bong” Go, special assistant to President Duterte. On Oct. 9, she said PNP chief, Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, called her, with events finally leading to Espinosa’s arrest on Oct. 17.

Speaking on the coincidence, Cam said she did not expect the turn of events.

“I don’t know the guy. I just based my info from the news,” she said.