Pinoy, 4 others plead not guilty in US drug case

A Filipino and four of his alleged accomplices have pleaded not guilty in a drug smuggling case in the United States and are now being held without bail in New York.

A report on Hong Kong news site The Standard on Thursday said the five, including two British men and an American, were charged for allegedly plotting to smuggle 100 kilograms of methamphetamine into the US.

The group allegedly managed to sell more than 30 kilograms of the North Korea-produced methamphetamine in 2012, which were seized by authorities in Thailand and the Philippines, the report said.

Earlier in 2013, sources close with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) managed to negotiate a deal with them to smuggle 100 kilograms of methamphetamine to the US from Thailand, where they were arrested on September 25.

During negotiations, one of the defendants supposedly bragged that they were the only organization able to ship methamphetamine out of North Korea since the US's crackdown on the country's production.

The drugs seized in 2012 tested more than 99 percent pure, while samples sent to DEA sources tested 96 to 98 percent, The Standard reported, citing court papers.

The men were arrested under charges tying them to an international drug trafficking network. They were arrested with former US Special Forces Joseph Manuel Hunter, thought to be the leader of the drug network that allegedly operates in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

UK's Mirror News reported in September that Hunter was also accused of killing a Philippine judge, in addition to smuggling drugs.

The Standard, in an earlier report, said Hunter entered Thailand through the Philippines.

The group's next court date is on December 5.

Methampetamines or meth is sold in drug stores to treat diseases such as obesity and narcolepsy, but street-sold crystal meth is made in illegal meth labs from these prescription drugs. — Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News