No bail for accused ‘shabu smuggler’

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila court has denied the petition for bail of Kenneth Dong or Dong Yi Shen, the alleged middleman in the smuggling of some P6.4 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) found in a Valenzuela City warehouse in 2017.

The Chinese-Filipino trader has been charged with drug smuggling.

In a resolution dated July 26, Regional Trial Court Branch 46 Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa said the prosecution was able to establish that the evidence against Dong “[was] strong in both the importation of illegal drugs and conspiracy … to further said act.”

The National Bureau of Investigation arrested Dong in Muntinlupa in February after Bureau of Customs (BOC) broker Mark Taguba identified him as the middleman who facilitated the shipment of illegal drugs in the country.

Dong’s petition for bail claimed that the evidence presented by the prosecution was “merely based on assumption and conjectures.”

But in her 10-page resolution, Montesa noted that Dong had admitted contacting Taguba to process a container where the 604 kilos of shabu was found.

Taguba meanwhile admitted that the container had passed through the BOC, while the alleged consignee of the shipment, Eirene Tatad, said that she had allowed her trading firm to be used as a dummy in the transaction.

The court had earlier denied bail to both Taguba and Tatad, who are both in government custody. Taguba is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, while Tatad is inside the  Manila City Jail.

“The three accused point to a common design which is to bring into the country the shipment,” the resolution said.