Local contacts of drug mule to be identified next week Foreigner caught last July for trafficking P6M worth of shabu

The Anti-Illegal Drug Group from Camp Crame will be coordinating with PDEA, AVSEU 7 and other law enforcement agencies for the operation

THE Anti-Illegal Drug Group from Camp Crame will be in Cebu next week to identify local contacts of Chinese national Liming Zhou, who was arrested for trafficking P6 million worth of shabu last July 20.

Senior Supt. Richie Posadas of the Aviation Security Unit (AVSEU7) at the Mactan airport said this will be in coordination with the Philippine Drug Information Agency (PDEA), AVSEU7 and other law enforcement agencies.

Charges

The operation is in line with the anti-drug war of the Duterte administration.

Zhou, 27, was arrested after at least four kilos of illegal drugs were found in her luggage when she arrived in Cebu from Hong Kong.

Zhou was also in Cebu on March 30, May 8 and June 15. She stayed two to three days during each visit. Police suspected she was also delivering shabu to her Cebu contacts.

Zhou was charged with violating Sections 4,5 ad 11 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, last July 22.

Her arrest was similar to the arrest of Chinese nationals Tek Man Wong and Xiuyu Tanare at the Mactan airport in March 2011.

PDEA 7 had declared in the initial test that the powder substance inside their luggage was shabu.

Determining identity

There were two onsite drug testings in the airport, with both turning out positive.

The Bureau of Customs under District Collector Ronie Silvestre also confiscated the US$20,000 in their possession. Under the law, they were only allowed to carry US$10,000.

However, the PDEA in Manila, which conducted a confirmatory test, declared that the powder substance was not shabu, resulting to their release. They were reportedly accompanied by Cebu-based businessman Mariano So.

It was not yet established if he is the same Mariano So who acted as Zhou’s interpreter after her arrest.