‘Five transnational drug networks operating in Philippines’

MANILA, Philippines — Five transnational drug networks with reported links in neighboring Southeast Asian countries are operating actively in the Philippines, a senior police official told lawmakers investigating the foiled smuggling of shabu worth P3.5 billion from Laos aboard a private jet.

The high-ranking police official, who didn’t want to be named, revealed this information to Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos, chairman of the House dangerous drugs committee which conducted a briefing last week.

The Philippine National Police official has identified the groups as the Sam Gor transnational drug network, the Chinese and Chinese-Filipino drug-trafficking groups, the West African drug-trafficking networks and Mexican criminal organizations, as well as the Sinaloa cartel.

The police official disclosed that these are the foreign groups reportedly linked to the illegal drug trade in the country.

During the briefing, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Isagani Nerez confirmed that Sam Gor is an alliance of five major Chinese triad groups: the 14K Triad, Bamboo Union, Big Circle Gang, Sun Yee On and Wo Shing Wo. Their leaders are believed to be based in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Sam Gor has been described as a major transnational criminal network involved in the Asia-Pacific methamphetamine trade, as well as trafficking of other illegal drugs and precursor chemicals.

Nerez reported Sam Gor is largely involved in trafficking methamphetamine, and is believed to have an estimated 40 to 70 percent control of the drug market in the region, earning over $17 billion per year.

The network has reportedly operated through partners and criminal groups in several countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

According to information attributed to PDEA, the name Sam Gor is associated with a nickname linked to its suspected leader, Tse Chi Lop, a Chinese-Canadian national arrested in the Netherlands in 2021 and extradited to Australia in December 2022 to face drug-trafficking charges.