7 Taiwanese held for drugs, kidnapping
Seven Taiwanese – five men and two women – were arrested in Binondo, Manila on Friday for allegedly working as drug couriers and kidnapping Chinese users who fail to pay for the drugs they buy from a drug gang.
Dong Haifeng, Dong Lu, Zhang Zongrong, Huang Jinchun and She Yong- an and the women – Dan Lu and Wei Yong-an Yang – were caught in a condominium unit along Lavezares street.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents seized four pistols, a silencer, six machetes and butcher knives, bullets and magazines, around 170 grams of shabu and a basin used to dry drugs.
Sachets containing capsules were also confiscated from the suspects, but the NBI’s forensics division has yet to determine their content.
Joel Tovera, head agent of the NBI’s anti-illegal drug unit, told reporters yesterday the NBI and its Taiwanese counterpart had been monitoring the group’s activities for the past three months.
He said the suspects manufactured shabu, but have stopped and were looking for a safehouse at the time of their arrest.
Enforcers
Tovera said the suspects admitted to using force to compel Chinese who fail to pay for the drugs they buy from a Chinese-run drug gang. Chinese- speaking barangay officials from Binondo and the NBI’s interpreter translated the suspects’ statements.
One of the suspects said they would kidnap the clients, take them to a warehouse somewhere in Central Luzon and torture them until they agree to pay up.
“We will apply for search warrants on the warehouses,” he said.
NBI Director Virgilio Mendez said this group of Taiwanese seemed to be “dangerous” since they possess deadly weapons – and this was rare among drug suspects.
He said a chemist allegedly connected to the suspects told the NBI about them over a year ago.