DOJ sees court win over Subic ‘floating shabu lab’

State prosecutors believe they will see four Hong Kong nationals convicted of illegal drug manufacturing in connection with the "floating shabu laboratory" discovered off Subic, Zambales in 2016.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the statement on Thursday, a day before an Olongapo judge is scheduled to release a decision on the case.

"Our prosecutors are confident that they will secure a conviction. If indeed it comes to pass, this will be the first major illegal drug manufacturing conviction under [President Rodrigo Duterte's] administration," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Win Fai Lo, Shu Fook Leung, Kam Wah Kwok and Kwok Tung Chan for the manufacture and possession of illegal drugs in July 2016.

They were denied bail by Olongapo Judge Raymond Viray in December 2017.

The case stemmed from the apprehension of a fishing vessel in the municipal water of Barangay Calapandayan, Subic in July 2016. The four accused were seen in the boat, which also housed a hydrogenator machine allegedly used in drug manufacturing.

During a search of the vessel, a police dog reportedly spotted a backpack that contained a resealable plastic bag with crystalline substance, believed to be shabu, inside. A laboratory exam on the seized items also purportedly revealed the presence of shabu.

In its resolution recommending charges against the foreigners, the DOJ said that since the four were found inside the boat where the drugs and paraphernalia were discovered, they were considered to have had "constructive custody" of the items. — BM, GMA News