DRUGBUSTERS ASK AMLAC TO SEIZE PASIG PROPERTY

The government has initiated forfeiture proceedings against the owner
of a 1,900 square-meter lot in Pasig City, where shanties openly
selling illegal drugs once stood before being raided by police and
demolished by the local government.

Director Marcelo Ele Jr., commander of the police Anti-Illegal Drugs
Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) of the Philippine National
Police, said they have coordinated with the Anti-Money Laundering
Council (AMLAC) to seize the Mapayapa compound in Barangay Sto. Tomas.

The property is reportedly owned by one Amin Imam Buratong.

"We strongly believe that the lot was acquired through the illegal
drug trade so we asked AMLAC to seize it in favor of the government,"
Ele said.

The AIDSOTF chief said they have started gathering evidence to pin
down Buratong, who, along with a certain Dario, was allegedly behind
the operation of the drug den.

Police have in their possession documents certifying that the lot is
owned by Buratong, who went into hiding after AIDSOTF agents raided
the Mapayapa compound last Feb. 10.

Police arrested 313 people during the raid.

Ele forwarded a copy of the document to the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which has been assisting police in their
investigation into the drug compound.

Buratong is now the subject of a manhunt.

Ele ordered Superintendent Jojo Acierto, leader of the raiding team,
to coordinate with AMLAC and turn over the necessary documents to
strengthen the case against Buratong.

To be included in the seizure request are five motorcycles believed to
have been used by the drug syndicate in delivering shabu to clients.

Ele said the five motorcycles, which remain unclaimed, are among the
19 vehicles parked in front the drug compound at the time it was raided.

Currently, AMLAC is working on the seizure of property and assets
belonging to arrested members of several international drug
syndicates, including those belonging to Chinese national Jackson Dy.

Ele revealed they have received reports that the Pasig drug den was
selling at least two kilos of shabu daily, worth some P6 million.

He said a tactical interrogation conducted on the arrested suspects
showed that a Chinese national was the one supplying the illegal drugs
to the drug den operators.

"We are still validating the reports. We are trying to identify this
Chinese national," he Ele said.

Ele said a certification issued by Chief Superintendent Ernesto Belen,
director of the PNP Crime Laboratory, showed that 270 grams of shabu
were seized in the Mapayapa raid.

He said AIDSOTF was able to significantly reduce the shabu supply in
the country by neutralizing 49 illegal drug laboratories and
warehouses since 2003.

The shabu now being peddled in the streets are smuggled by drug
syndicates into the country.

"Finished products na ang ipinupuslit ng mga drug syndicates sa
bansa," he said.