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Friday, December 16, 2005
Capitol tightens security for Tan
By Minerva B. Gerodias
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Reports that escorting jail guards and policemen are receiving money from the wife of suspected shabu lab financier Calvin Tan have prompted the Capitol to change the escorting system of the inmate.
Tan’s security also needed to be strengthened after authorities received reports he would be rescued last Friday on his way to attend the hearing of his case in Mandaue City.
“We would like to commend and salute the alert jail guards and (Capitol consultant) Byron Garcia for successfully thwarting the attempt (to rescue Tan),” said Rep. Antonio Cuenco, vice chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs.
Tan, 30, is detained in a high-security cell at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC). He was extradited from Hong Kong last July where he was detained for a separate drug charge.
Last Thursday and Friday, Tan was taken to the Regional Trial Court in Mandaue City for the hearing of his drug case and his petition to post bail.
Before the rescue reports, Tan’s security only comprised jail guards, provincial police and the Civil Security Unit (CSU) of the Capitol.
But Tan’s security last Friday was doubled and he was also escorted by the Special Weapons and Tactics teams of Cebu City and Mandaue City.
Escort
Personnel from Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), Cebu City Police Office and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) also escorted him.
PDEA 7 Chief Amado Marquez said that in his future hearings, Tan’s security will continue to be tight.
Cuenco also revealed that Tan has tried to reach witnesses Hung Chin Chang, alias Simon Lao, and Tamadoni Morteza, an Iranian national.
Mastermind
Lao, one of 11 men arrested on Sept. 24 last year during a raid on a shabu laboratory in Umapad, Mandaue City, has identified Tan as the mastermind and financier of the lab.
Tamadoni, on the other hand, was the one Lao allegedly contacted to source some chemicals and drug precursors and to look for a warehouse in Cebu.
Meanwhile, Garcia revealed that the newly formed escorting team of the CSU of the Capitol is now the front liner in securing Tan.
Before, the police and the jail guards were in charge of Tan’s security.
But last Oct. 28, Garcia received a report from the CPDRC operations officer that Tan’s wife gave P2,500 to the escorting team for lunch. This prompted Garcia to change the system.
Garcia has given a copy of the report to Acting CPPO Director Vicente Loot.
Tan will have two pairs of handcuffs; his right hand will be tied to the left hand of his escort while his left hand will be tied to the right hand of his other escort.
Garcia will be the one to choose who among the CSU personnel will be tasked to escort Tan.
Tan’s cell also has a padlock aside from the electronic lock. The keys to the padlock are with Byron and the CPDRC operations officer.
“It means no jail guards can bring him out of the cell without my knowledge or clearance from the operations personnel,” Garcia said.
(December 16, 2005 issue)
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