THE Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted Wednesday, February 13, a Mexican national who is allegedly linked to the Sinaloa drug cartel, for selling 2.5 kilos of cocaine to undercover operatives four years ago.
In a seven-page decision, RTC Branch 63 Judge Selma Palacio Alaras sentenced Horacio Hernandez Herrera to life imprisonment and a fine of P500,000 to P10 million.
Herrera was arrested by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents on January 11, 2015 in a drug bust at the parking area of Dona Dona Korean BBQ restaurant on Makati Ave., Barangay Poblacion, Makati City with 2,560 grams of cocaine.
According to the court, months before the entrapment, police informants set the deal with Herrera in coffee shops in the area.
He arrived in 2013 in Manila and was supposedly planning to put up a cocaine distribution ring in the Philippines.
Herrera claimed he was abducted by men in plain clothes from his hotel room and was taken to the car where he was later arrested.
The court, however, noted that the defense failed to produce CCTV footage or eyewitnesses that they were supposed to present after they were given ample time to secure them.
Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, Assistant State Prosecutors Josie Christina Dugay and Ethel Rea Suril prosecuted the case.
On Tuesday, February 12, a court in the United States convicted multi-billionaire Sinaloa drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, 61, on 10 counts of drug smuggling. (PNA)