Lacson questions easy entry and exit in PHL of Chinese in Interpol watchlist

Senator Panfilo Lacson questioned Wednesday how a person in the Interpol watchlist, who is also wanted in China,  was able to get in and out  of the Philippines.

Lacson said he received good information that the main person responsible for the 276 kilos of suspected shabu with street value of around P1.8 billion seized at the Manila International Container Port on March 22 was Chinese national named Zhijian Xu alias “Jacky Co."

He said Co was born in Fujian, China and subject to ongoing verification by the local law enforcement agencies with their Southeast Asian counterparts.

“(Co) is said to be on the Interpol watch list and among the wanted personalities in China. Hindi lamang siya kasangkot sa kalakalan ng iligal na droga, bahagi rin siya ng isang malaking kidnapping syndicate dito sa Pilipinas na kumukubra ng ransom sa pamamagitan ng wire transfer at offshore banking,” he said in a privilege speech.

“Ang huling kidnapping na kinasangkutan ni Jacky Co ay nagkakahalaga ng P250 million, Mr. President. Sa mga nakalap naming dokumento, siya ay may-ari ng Feidatong International Logistics Company na nakabase sa Bulacan,” he added.

The senator said during the time of the said shipment of the 275 kilos of shabu, Co was in the country monitoring.

The Bureau of Customs reported that the illegal drugs were wrapped in drinking tea packaging and were found inside a 40-foot container declared as plastic resin. This shipment was under the consignee identified as Wealth Lotus Empire Corp.

Lacson said it is revolting that in spite of Co’s alleged involvement in criminal activities in the country and in China, the latter was able to leave Manila via Philippine Airlines flight bound for Vietnam passing through Singapore on April 3, 2019 or few days after the seizure of the drug shipment.

“Hindi na nga nagmadaling tumakas, kampante pang lumipad mula sa NAIA. One may wonder: how can a person of such character slip the stringent scrutiny of the Bureau of Immigration personnel manning our airports considering that the BID now uses state-of-the-art, biometrics-based system for its computers in all international airports nationwide?” he asked.

“While we surely celebrate high impact operations, shenanigans embedded in the rotten system tend to overshadow our progress,” he added.

The senator also questioned the decision of BOC to auction 114 bags inside the  aluminum pallets with tapioca starch which contained 146 kilos of shabu.

The BOC and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency found the abandoned shipment and the hidden illegal drugs on March 5, prompting them to auction off the tapioca starch in the hopes the narcotics group would bid for it.

Goldwin Commercial Warehouse submitted the highest bid for the shipment on April 22.

“Let’s assume for a while that we are buying their story, is the BOC legally allowed to subject prohibited goods to public sale or auction?” Lacson said.

He said public auction is not one of the prescribed means of disposing prohibited goods as  Section 1146 of Customs Modernization and Tariff Act or R.A. 10863 states that they should be destroyed.

“Kahit paikut-ikutin nila ang kwento, napakalabo pa rin ng bersyon ng Bureau of Customs at PDEA ukol sa mga pangyayari,” he said.

Lacson believed it is a case of “dishonesty with the intention of misleading the public.”

He cited a report signed by PDEA regional director III Joel B. Plaza dated March 11, 2019 or 10 days after the forfeiture in favor of the government of the shipment and 11 days before its supposed seizure in the Malabon warehouse which stated: “…the specimens submitted do not contain any dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals.”

“Sa katunayan, agad na ipinasubasta (auction) ang nasabing kargamento dahilan sa ito ay madaling nabubulok o “perishable by nature”,” the senator said.

He added on May 22, the subject shipment was released to the winning bidder and delivered to Goldwin Commercial’s warehouse at #89F Santos Street, Santolan, Malabon City.

He said during the cleaning or washing of the commodity, one of the aluminum pallets accidentally fell off, which exposed an aluminum foil containing the illegal drugs. Immediately thereafter, the winning bidder reported the incident to the Bureau of Customs.

“Mr. President, we put the BOC and PDEA on notice that we were not born yesterday. It does not take much to figure out the holes in the plot that some not-so-smart characters in these agencies tried to fabricate but failed miserably,” he said. —LDF, GMA News