2 Chinese arrested as speedboat off Occ. Mindoro yields P5.8-B ‘shabu’
Army troops recovered about 876 kilograms of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) and captured the two Chinese nationals who were transporting the drugs in a two-engine speedboat off the coast of Occidental Mindoro, military and law enforcement officials reported on Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Ramon Zagala, commander of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said that soldiers and civilian militia went to Sitio Agbalete in Barangay Harrison, Paluan, on Tuesday afternoon after a resident reported that a twin-engine speedboat had run aground near the area.
The government troops also saw two Chinese-looking men standing near the speedboat. Although the suspects fled toward a nearby forested area after noticing them, they were arrested the following day.
Brig. Gen. Melencio Ragudo, commander of the 203rd Infantry “Bantay Kapayapaan” Brigade, said that personnel from a nearby patrol base, including members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, inspected the two-engine speedboat at the 76th Infantry Battalion headquarters.
They found 43 sacks containing about 20 to 30 kilograms each of a white crystalline substance that was later confirmed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police chemists to be high-grade shabu.
High-grade
“Yes, yes, confirmed. High-grade,” Ragudo said. “All tests were conducted here by PDEA, PNP, and our chemists.”
PDEA spokesperson Joseph Frederick Calulut said that an inventory is still ongoing although the recovered drugs were estimated to roughly weigh around 876 kilograms.
“The standard value of what we recovered there or what was turned over to us there is P5.8 billion,” he said.
It was initially reported that 2.2 tons of shabu were recovered from the speedboat. Ragudo clarified that this was based on initial field estimates that suggested there were 50 kilos of the white substance in each sack. It was later found that each sack contained only 20 to 30 kilos, bringing the total to 876 kilograms.
Also found in the boat were various equipment that included a Starlink satellite communication device, mobile phones, hand flares, batteries, fire extinguishers and life-saving gear, according to the military.
For further investigation
Zagala, meanwhile, said the two Chinese nationals were captured on Wednesday in the town proper of Paluan.
“This afternoon, we have captured the two Chinese individuals who escaped yesterday and brought illegal drugs here in Occidental Mindoro. We will now turn them over to the Philippine National Police for further investigation,” he said.
Zagala added that while the nationalities of the suspects are confirmed as Chinese, their identities have not yet been determined. Search operations, according to the official, are being conducted for the suspects’ possible other accomplices.
He said the discovery highlighted the cooperation between the military and law enforcement agencies in addressing illegal activities.
