Condo raids nab 6 drug ring ‘managers’

The six people who were arrested in Caloocan on Thursday night worked as “financial managers” of a big drug syndicate led by a Chinese national, according to the police.

“We were surprised at the cash and checks worth billions of pesos that we recovered,” Senior Supt. Robert Fajardo, Northern Police District (NPD) director, said of the evidence to be used against the suspects, who were arrested in separate operations at two condominiums on P. Sevilla and 3rd streets, Grace Park.

The NPD identified them as Glenn Bernardo and his wife Maricar; Chinese nationals Charles Shi and Arthur Sy; and barangay kagawad Dante Balosor and Irene Ang.

Armed with search warrants,  teams from the NPD and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) found assorted bank documents, P700,000 in cash, and other financial papers at the Bernardos’ condo unit, according to a report to Fajardo.

The team also recovered a copy of a Court of Appeals decision that ordered the freezing of the couple’s bank accounts, which were suspected of being used for money laundering.

The two Chinese nationals Shy and Sy were arrested in another condo unit, where the police said they were found keeping an unspecified amount of “shabu” as well as bank check booklets, deposit slips, ledgers, record books, financial transaction receipts and other documents.

At Golden Bee Bakery and Fountain Marketing where Balosor and Ang were found, the police seized cash amounting to P101,400, assorted checks, financial documents, ledgers, cell phones, laptops, logbooks, credit cards and other financial statements, the report added.

In an interview, Fajardo said “these are the people who manage the finances of drug lords. They say, ‘you pay this, money will come at this time, convert this money to dollars,’ that sort of thing.”

He said all six suspects just kept saying “We don’t know” when questioned about the cash and documents.

“It appears that the two Chinese (Shy and Sy) were the big bosses of the others who were arrested. But there is another big boss and he is in China,” Fajardo said.

Charges for money laundering and violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, particularly the provision dealing with managers or financiers of the illegal drug trade, are set to be filed by the CIDG against the suspects.

The six suspects remained in CIDG’s custody as of Friday, Fajardo said.