3 Taiwanese charged with drug raps

Three Taiwanese nationals arrested in separate drug bust in Parañaque and Las Piñas underwent inquest proceeding at DOJ. Tetch Torres-Tupas / INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday charged before the Las Piñas and Parañaque Regional Trial Courts (RTC) the three Taiwanese nationals arrested in separate raids last July 5 that yielded about P1.5 billion worth of high-grade shabu and raw materials used for its manufacture.

Charged before the Las Piñas RTC are Shigh-Ming Tsai and Kuo-Chan Cheng while charged before the Parañaque RTC is Chun Ming Lin. They were all charged with violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

READ: Drug raps filed vs 3 Taiwanese

Tsai and Cheng were charged with “manufacture” and “possession” of dangerous drugs while Lin was charged with possession of dangerous drugs.

“The plentitude of evidence presented translucently and adequately established that respondents Cheng Kuo-Chuan aka Art/Aaron and Tsai Shih Ming, not being authorized by law, had full knowledge that the white crystalline substance with a total registered weight of forty-six point eight five kilograms (46.85 kg) and the brownish substance with a total registered weight of two hundred sixty-three point zero eight kilograms (263.08 kg), or in the aggregate amount of three hundred nine point nine three kilograms (309.93 kg) of methamphetamine hydrochloride or ‘shabu’ found and seized in the house they were occupying is a dangerous drug,” stated in the resolution approved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon and Prosecutor General Claro Arellano.

“Both had control and dominion over this perilous item,” the resolution read.

The DOJ, however, dismissed the case for “Manufacture or Delivery of Equipment, Instrument, Apparatus, and Other Paraphernalia for Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals” against respondents due to insufficiency of evidence. The charge for “use of dangerous drugs” was absorbed by the greater offense of “manufacture of dangerous drugs.”

In the case of Lin, the DOJ said “considering the net weight of the methamphetamine hydrochloride or ‘shabu,’ a dangerous drug, that were found in his possession, a finding of probable cause to indict respondent Lin Chun-Ming is inevitable.”

“He certainly has no authority to possess, even as he freely and consciously possessed the same at the time the search warrant was implemented,” the resolution read.

Tsai and Kuo were arrested last July 5 in a house in Philam Life Village, Barangay (vilage) Pamplona 2 in Las Piñas City where authorities confiscated 46.85 grams of shabu and 263.08 grams of brownish substance with traces of shabu.

Also seized were sacks of Sodium Acetate, Barium Sulfate, caustic soda flakes, plastic bags containing coffee filders, dippers, erlen meyer flasks and chiller.

Lin, on the other hand, was arrested also last July 5 in a house in Executive Villagers Society, BF Homes, Phase 5 in Parañaque City.

Authorities confiscated 6,986.4 grams of shabu and 24 big boxes containing 2,554 small boxes of Chloroephedrine, an intermediate and possible contaminant formed when methamphetamine is manufactured using ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as precursors. RAM