DILG: Seized sacks of ‘shabu’ had Vietnamese markings
CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro—A foreign syndicate may be involved in the estimated P6 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) seized in Oriental Mindoro.
“We think that they are part of an international drug syndicate,” said Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla after the drugs were established to be methamphetamine with 90 percent purity by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
“This is a very sophisticated organization. In fact, when their boat ran aground and they were chased, they deployed drones to find the rest of their drugs. They are not ordinary criminals. These are syndicates,” he added.
Military personnel found the illegal drugs aboard a speedboat that ran aground along the coast of Sitio Agbalite, Barangay Harrison, in Paluan town, on Tuesday, arresting two Chinese nationals and two Filipinos who allegedly came to search for them.
Remulla identified the arrested foreigners as Xing Xing Zhan and Bin Shi; and the Filipinos as Jonjon Martinez Hernandez and Frial Sotoya Francisco.
Seized equipment
Apart from the 43 sacks of crystal meth, lawmen also seized from the suspects a global satellite cellphone, a Starlink modem, hand flares, batteries and other safety gear.
Remulla said the arrested suspects were traced to a woman who had been leasing a house in Batangas since November 2025, adding that Xing and Bin arrived in the Philippines on March 5.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government said the intercepted contraband was linked to a series of interdictions by the police in Central Luzon last year.
He maintained that the drugs were not manufactured in the Philippines and observed that the sacks containing the drugs had Vietnamese markings.
