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Friday, October 08, 2004
Transfer of shabu suspect Tan to Cebu falters
CEBU CITY -- The return of Calvin de Jesus Tan, the alleged financier of the shabu laboratory in Mandaue City, may be delayed for more than two months, as he faces trial for drug possession in Hong Kong.
If Tan is convicted in Hong Kong for being found with five grams of shabu, he will have to serve jail time before he is sent back to the Philippines, said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Anselmo Avenido Jr. Thursday.
An earlier return is possible, though, as Hong Kong authorities advised the Philippine Government to immediately file a formal request, through its Consul General's Office, that Tan be sent back home to face the drug manufacturing charges in Mandaue City.
So far, that was the initial report relayed by Supt. Ager Ontog Jr. to Avenido.
Ontog and Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) flew to Hong Kong last Wednesday to persuade officials there to release Tan, a Chinese-Filipino, to Philippine jurisdiction.
Another case for manufacturing illegal drugs was filed Thursday against Tan and the 11 men, mostly foreigners, arrested during the raid on the shabu laboratory in Barangay Umapad last Sept. 24.
This time, the case before the Mandaue City Prosecutor's Office is for the raid on the shabu laboratory in Barangay Paknaan last Sept. 25.
Search warrant
Defense lawyer Daryll Amante also questioned before the Mandaue City Regional Trial Court Branch 28 the search warrant used by law enforcers in the Umapad raid.
Amante, who represents 10 of the suspects, questioned the validity of the warrant considering that it was issued in Quezon City.
He also filed a motion asking the court to return the personal belongings of his clients.
Meanwhile, City Prosecutor Ferdinand Peque issued a subpoena to the five incorporators and officers of Caps R Us, which owns the buildings that housed the "mega shabu lab" in Umapad.
Section 30 of Republic Act 9165 states that if the violation of the law is committed by a corporation, the president, director, manager or officer "who consents to or knowingly tolerates such violation shall be held criminally liable as a co-principal."
The prosecutor's office had asked Andy S. Ng, Azucena S. Ng, Richard T. Ong, Athena S. Ng and Adrienne Y. Ong to file their respective counter-affidavits to the charge filed against them by PDEA.
PDEA legal consultant Paul Clarence Oaminal earlier said it is the burden of the incorporators to prove that they have no knowledge about the existence of the shabu laboratory in their property.
Assistant City Prosecutor Felixberto Geromo said the subpoena was received by lawyer Romulo Senining, who is representing the five incorporators.
Similar case
Geromo and Peque earlier said the owners of the Paknaan warehouse should also be made to face a similar case like the one lodged against Cap R Us incorporators, but PDEA has yet to find out who really owns the Paknaan warehouse.
PDEA 7 also filed yesterday the second case for illegal drug manufacture under RA 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, against Tan, Joseph Yu, Hung Chin Chang, Siew Kin Weng, Liew Kam Song, Lin Li Ku, Bao Xiafu, Wu Tiao Yi, Tao Fei, Liu Bo, Allan Yap Garcia and Joseph Lopez.
Less than 24 hours after the raid in Umapad, law enforcers found a still unused mini-shabu laboratory in Paknaan.
Armed with a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Judge Simeon Dumdum, members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 and the PDEA 7 raided a warehouse in Paknaan, which was rented by Joseph Yu, one of the 11 men arrested in Umapad.
The warehouse turned out to be an unused laboratory with brand new equipment such as turbo dryers used as improvised chemical mixers, compressors, freezers, hoses, flasks and sealers.
Tan, 29, with listed address in Manila, gave P5 million to finance the operation of the shabu laboratory in Umapad, according to three of the arrested men.
He was arrested in Hong Kong last Thursday carrying thousands of dollars in US and Hong Kong currencies and a small amount of illegal drugs.
PDEA 7 Chief Avenido said the usual practice, even here in the Philippines, is that a convicted alien must face trial and serve the sentence meted on him before he will be deported to his home country.
"That's the usual practice and there's no clear information yet that he would be released immediately. But we're just hoping that the Hong Kong Government will give in to our request," Avenido told Sun.Star Thursday night.
The Hong Kong court already denied Tan's petition to post bail, but he is set to face an arraignment on Nov. 1.
As of Thursday, Ontog was still in Hong Kong, but he is expected to return to Manila either Friday or Saturday.
Sun.Star tried but failed to contact Cuenco.
The Philippine Government had sent a formal request that Tan be detained further as the drug case against him in Hong Kong is bailable.
Frozen
As this developed, the National Bureau of Investigation Central Office already forwarded to the Anti-Money Laundering Council the recommendation of NBI-7 Director Reynaldo Esmeralda that the bank account of Joseph Yu be frozen.
Yu, one of the 11 arrested drug suspects, leased the warehouses in Looc and Tipolo, Man-daue City.
Three sacks of ephedrine, a shabu precursor, were found in the Looc warehouse. The one in Tipolo was empty when the NBI checked it last week. (GC/ROV)
(October 8, 2004 issue)
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