Pubdate: Mon, 11 Apr 2005
Source: Sunstar Davao (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Sunstar
Contact:  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/
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SHABU LAB OPERATORS NO LONGER IN SIGHT

THE foreigners who are suspected to be operating another shabu
laboratory here in Mindanao had reportedly gone into hiding after
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte divulged their activity to the public
two Sundays ago.

In his television program "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" on Sunday,
Duterte said the foreigners could have taken notice of the
authorities' surveillance on their activity thus their sudden
disappearance from the shabu laboratory.

"Murag nakabantay ang mga amaw," Duterte said. The mayor however
assured that they are continuously monitoring the laboratory and would
pounce on the suspects once they come back.

"We are keeping a close watch. One of these days, mubuto na lang ni.
Pag maabtan ko ni, patay ni. Ihawon ko gyud ni (this story will just
burst out. They're dead meat if I catch them, they'll surely be
slaughtered)," Duterte said.

Last April 3, Duterte made public the operation of this suspected
shabu laboratory.

Though not revealing the location of the suspected shabu laboratory,
Duterte said Oriental-looking foreigners are involved in the operation.

"They come here and manufacture illegal drugs as if there are no
laws," the mayor said.

For this, Duterte warned the foreigners to stop their illegal activity
immediately or suffer the same fate that befell the six
Oriental-looking foreigners who died during a raid at a shabu
laboratory in Dumoy, Toril last December 31.

He then addressed the local partners of the foreigners to translate
his threats to them.

Duterte had earlier said that if he caught anyone operating a shabu
laboratory in the city, he would tie them down to the machines and set
them on fire. This time, however, the mayor said he is expanding his
coverage to include those shabu manufacturers operating elsewhere in
the country.

The Dumoy raid was conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
(PDEA) 11, the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force, and
the intelligence operatives of the Police Regional Office.

Police recovered more than 76 kilos of suspected shabu worth more than
P152 million in street value.

PDEA 11 director Superintendent Wilkins Villanueva said that police
were forced to fire shots at the victims in retaliation to the
former's resistance.

Six suspected drug dealers died on their way to the Davao Sanitarium
Hospital for treatment, while suspected laboratory owner Alan Sy has
not surfaced since then.

The mayor refused to categorically state what happened to Sy, but he
has often repeated that he has already accounted for all suspects when
he called President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to inform her about the
New Year's Eve bust. 
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