Palace hails conviction of Mexican drug trader by Makati court

MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, February 13, described as a positive development the conviction by a Makati court of a man believed to be a member of the Sinaloa international drug cartel.

Mexican national Horacio Hernandez Herrera was found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced by the Makati City Court Branch 64 to life imprisonment. He was ordered him to pay a fine of P500,000 to P10 million.

"We view the conviction of Mr. Horacio Hernandez Herrera, a supposed member of a Mexican drug cartel, by a Makati court as a positive development," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

"This Administration believes that any circumstance that diminishes the tentacles of the illegal drug industry is helpful to our country’s war against prohibited narcotics," he added.

Herrera was arrested by the agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on January 11, 2015 in front of a restaurant in Makati City.

Recovered from him were 2.2 kilos of cocaine estimated to be worth P12 million.

The Mexican national pleaded guilty to the charge against him. The court said that "the prosecution was able to establish the legality of accused's arrest, that he was arrested for selling dangerous drugs."

In a speech delivered in Laur, Nueva Ecija on Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that the Sinaloa drug cartel was operating in the country

"Kasi pumasok na ang Mexico, (Mexico's Sinaloa is now in the country). And they have connected with the Bamboo Triad of Asia. There seems to be a blossoming of criminals globally and we are fighting a global war against drug," the President had said.

Panelo backed Duterte's claim that the Sinaloa drug cartel "has penetrated the Philippine market much to the disbelief, skepticism and heckling of the political opposition and critics of the drug war."

"The conviction of Mr. Herrera therefore serves as a repudiation of the sentiments of these detractors," the Palace official said.

Panelo said Herrera's conviction was a "significant blow against the said drug cartel."

He re-assured that the current administration was exhausting all efforts to curb the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.

"And much as we consider this as a victory, it also gives a stern warning against international drug syndicates that our Government is resolute in destroying whoever attempts to poison our nation through the importation of illicit drugs," he said.

"We will never allow our country to be flooded with prohibited drugs by the merchants of death and destruction. The President and this Administration will not rest until the last drug apparatus is destroyed and the last drug pusher is sent to jail," he added. (SunStar Philippines)

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