Laos-PH drug smuggling mastermind tied to int'l syndicate -- PDEA

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The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Thursday said the alleged mastermind of the Laos drug smuggling attempt has ties to an international criminal syndicate.

During the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs hearing, PDEA chief Isagani Nerez named former Bangsamoro Parliament member Edrieza Rimbang as the mastermind of the entire attempt.

“Rimbang appears not to be a mere financier, but the person who conceptualized, who planned for the delivery of those illegal drugs from Laos to the Philippines, so he was the one who made those plans, made those suggestions to his conduits, his cohorts, and yes, he provided the needed financial requirement for the chartering of that flight,” Nerez said.

“We suspect that Rimbang has other cohorts. We suspect, and we believe, honestly believe that Rimbang is connected with an international syndicate because the items are coming from another country,” the PDEA chief added.

Nerez said only an international drug syndicate could have accessed the illegal drugs produced in the Golden Triangle, a region where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. The area is notorious for drug production and other organized criminal activities.

GMA News Online is trying to reach Rimbang for a statement and will update the story once he responds.

In a DZBB report from Allan Gatus, Police Master Sergeant Aileen Jane Manalo Mendoza, one of the persons of interest in the case, is also suspected of playing a major role in the operation.

Mendoza was the one who allegedly made the arrangements for the plane that would have been used in the drug smuggling.

Meanwhile, the full name of the “Fahad” who was arrested by Lao authorities is Fahad Dibaroson, who is married to the wife of Rimbang’s sister.

Before being arrested in Laos, Dibaroson had traveled to Singapore and Malaysia, according to the PDEA.

On October 1, Lao authorities thwarted P3.5 billion in illegal drugs on a private plane headed to the Philippines.

Thai-PH smuggling?

Aside from the Laos drug smuggling attempt, there were also reports of another shipment of drugs headed towards the Philippines. This time, it was reportedly thwarted in Thailand.

According to Gatus’ report, Nerez also said that there was no evidence showing that the ship was headed to the Philippines.

PDEA said that should it have landed in the Philippines, the agency would have been able to stop it. —RSJ, GMA News