Wanted criminal’ in China behind P1.8-B smuggled shabu at Manila port–Lacson
Credit to Author: BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO| Date: Wed, 29 May 2019 14:51:02 +0000
A CHINESE, a “wanted criminal” in China, is responsible in the smuggling of 276 kilos of shabu worth P1.8 billion at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Wednesday.
Lacson said the illegal drugs, seized on March 22, were wrapped in drinking tea and were found inside a 40-foot container declared as plastic resin.
The shipment was under the Wealth Lotus Empire Corp., said Lacson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.
“We have it on good information that the main person responsible for this shipment is a Chinese national named Zhijian Xu alias Jacky Co, who was born in Fujian, China,” Lacson said.
He said that Co, subject to ongoing verification by local law enforcement agencies with their Southeast Asian counterparts, was on the Interpol (International Police) watchlist and among the wanted personalities in China.
Co is also allegedly involved in a big kidnapping syndicate in the Philippines.
Lacson said Co collected ransom paid via wire transfer and offshore banking. He owns the Feidatong International Logistics Company in Bulacan.
“But what is interesting is that during the time of the said shipment, Jacky Co was in the country monitoring. Even revolting is, in spite of his alleged involvement in criminal activities here and in China, he had left Manila via Philippine Airlines flight bound for Vietnam passing through Singapore on April 3, 2019, few days after the seizure of his shipment of drugs,” Lacson said.
Lacson asked how “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?”
“While we surely celebrate high impact operations, shenanigans embedded in the rotten system tend to overshadow our progress,” Lacson said.
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