P2B shabu seized from Chinese in Baguio City raid

BAGUIO CITY -- Over 575 kilograms of suspected shabu placed in some 500 pieces of tea bags marked with Chinese characters were seized at the warehouse rented by a Chinese in Purok 4, Barangay Irisan here Wednesday morning, March 29.
    Hui Ming, alias Tan, 51 was arrested during the raid by the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit of Cordillera Police and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and National Bureau of Investigation.
    Anti-narcotics agents from the RDEU earlier asked a local court for a search warrant after painstaking intelligence operations against the drug suspect, said Cordillera police director Brig. Gen. David Peredo.
    Peredo said the estimated value of the seized drugs was over P2 billion. Other reports valued the seized shabu at P4 billion.
    "It is perhaps one of the biggest shabu haul north of Manila in recent years," Peredo said. "We have yet to finish the inventory of the shabu and file charges against Ming."
Irisan is one of the four remaining barangay (villages) in the city that have not been cleared of illegal drugs.
    The huge drug haul caught residents and city officials by surprise as the warehouse is near the headquarters of a fire station.
    The drug operation was an initiative of the regional drug enforcement unit of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera.

The raiding teams implemented a search warrant issued by Rufus Gayo Malecdan, Jr.,  Executive Judge of Regional Trial Court of Baguio City.

The warrant, dated March 28, 2023, at the suspect’s rented house in Irisan.

Inventory of confiscated items were conducted at site in the presence of the arrested suspect and witnessed by punong barangay Arthur Carlos of Irisan, Prosecutor Philip Ceasar R. Castle of Dept. of Justice and Darius Bajo of GMA7 as media representative.

Those who witnessed inventory were Dept. of Interior and Local Government Secr. Benjamin Abalos Jr., Deputy PNP Chief for Operations Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, regional director of the PNP’s National Police Region Police Office Maj. Gen. Edgar Okubo. Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, PDEA director general Moro Virgilio Lazo, deputy regional director for operations of NCRPO Brig. Gen. Jack L. Wanky, district director of Northern Police District Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Penones Jr. and PROCor regional director Brig. Gen. Peredo Jr.

The suspect is now under custody of BCPO Irisan Police Station where charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002 were prepared against him.