MANILA — Six drug trafficking suspects, including three South Korean nationals, believed to be exporting illegal drugs abroad, were nabbed by the Quezon City police in a Makati condominium past midnight on Tuesday (Nov. 1).
Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, Quezon City Police District director, said the Korean suspects were identified as Bang Kho Laem, with aliases Mr. Kuo and Chi Pui Wong, 49; Jintaek Lee, 42, and Isaac Kho, 51, also known as Kiderck Kim and Kook Jung Wong.
Three Filipinos were also arrested, namely Jaypee Soriano, 24; Arby Diaz, 20, and Kathleen Nonato, 32. A certain Lyn Paz is still at large.
Kho has identified himself as an intellgence agent of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, but Eleazar said they were still validating this information, as of Tuesday.
“A South Korean consular officer has contacted me and is now at Camp Karingal (QCPD hadquarters) to check on their nationals and to confirm the information given to us by Kho,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Police reports said joint operatives of the city’s District Special Operations Unit and the District Anti-Illegal Drugs arrived at Room 4116-E of One Rockwell East Tower in Barangay Poblacion, Makati City, armed with a search warrant issued by the QC Regional Trial Court Branch 97.
Along with the security personnel of One Rockwell, cops knocked at the unit around 11:20 p.m. on Oct. 31. After twenty minutes of no response, the team forcibly opened the door, only to be met by a swinging samurai sword by one of the suspects.
Senior Insp. Paterno Domondon was stabbed on his right palm and was brought to the Mandaluyong Hospital where he received 15 stitches. He was later transferred to the PNP General Hospital at Camp Crame.
Retrieved from the room were nearly 250 grams of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) worth P1.25 million in various packaging, several drug paraphernalia, a .22-cal. revolver, two laptops, 10 cell phones and four samurai swords.
In a media briefing, Eleazar, along with National Capital Region Police Office head, Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, showed how the suspects concealed shabu under the overlapping sides of an expandable envelope. These were believed to be shipped through international courier service to South Korea.
Police retrieved five such envelopes, which can carry at least 16 grams of the illegal drug.
Charges of violating laws on dangerous drugs and firearms, as well as on direct assault and serious physical injury, will be filed against the six at the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office. SFM