Drug gangs now prefer Chinese couriers—police official

MANILA, Philippines—Drug syndicates have started using as couriers Chinese nationals who do not speak Filipino to prevent them from talking about their operations.

This was the observation made by an antinarcotics official of the Quezon City Police District following the arrest of a Chinese man who sold half a kilo of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or “shabu,” worth P2.5 million to an undercover policeman.

Insp. Roberto Razon, head of the District Anti-Illegal Drugs’ Special Operations Task Group, said that drug syndicates have stopped using Filipinos as couriers.

“They now prefer Chinese instead of Filipinos because even if the Chinese get arrested, they won’t be able to spill the beans because they can’t speak Filipino,” he said in an interview on Monday.

Razon pointed out that despite the presence of an interpreter, Xiong Biao Chen did not say anything about his group or the drugs recovered from him.

Xiong, 49, was arrested on Saturday afternoon at the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant at the corner of Banaue and Maria Clara streets in La Loma, Quezon City.

He was subjected to inquest proceedings on Sunday night for drug peddling. No bail was recommended for his temporary release.

Razon noted that last September, they arrested a Chinese couple for allegedly trying to sell two kilos of shabu near a hotel, also on Banaue Street in La Loma. The operation led the police to Xiong.

He and the Chinese couple belong to the Binondo Drug Group, which operates mostly in the La Loma area, Razon said.

According to him, they were investigating the source of the group’s shabu supply although they believed that the gang had some of its stash stored in Binondo.

“The group has learned from its mistakes. Before, they used Filipinos as couriers but the Filipinos would end up squealing about their operations,” Razon explained.

He noted that since the Chinese nationals do not know how to speak Filipino, their arrest is practically at no risk to the group.

Razon said they were still verifying if Xiong had registered his arrival in the country with the Chinese Embassy and if he has any criminal record in his homeland.