PDEA: P1.9-B shabu in Cavite may be linked to Golden Triangle

MANILA, Philippines — The almost P2 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) recently seized in Cavite may have originated from the “Golden Triangle” in the border of Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Director General Aaron Aquino said on Monday.

PDEA agents seized an estimated P1.9 billion worth of shabu from a warehouse in Tanza, Cavite following a buy-bust operation on Sunday, Feb. 3.

Two Chinese nationals were killed in the bust.

READ: 2 Chinese nationals killed in Cavite buy-bust

According to Aquino, foreign drug syndicates are now avoiding smuggling illegal drugs through ports due to the intensified efforts of the PDEA and the Bureau of Customs.

“So the only means is ‘yung ‘shipside smuggling’ kung saan ang assessment namin ang mga droga na ito ay nanggagaling sa bansa ng Golden Triangle,” he told Radyo Inquirer.

(So the only means is “shipside smuggling” where we assess that these drugs came from the Golden Triangle.)

Under the shipside smuggling schemes, illegal drug shipments are dropped offshore from large cargo vessels and will be picked up and brought to shore by smaller boats, Aquino said.

Aquino suspects that the shabu shipment seized in Cavite was dropped off the Ilocos region coastline.

Aquino also said PDEA is looking at three more persons of interest behind the sizable shabu shipment.

One of them, a Chinese national, has returned to China.

He said PDEA has yet to check if another person of interest, also a Chinese, has left the country.

A Filipino-Chinese who owns the Cavite warehouse will also be thoroughly investigated, Aquino said. / gsg