Do cocaine smugglers feel safe in Davao?
In December, 2009, 16kg of cocaine worth around P80 million were found hidden in two container vans at the Maersk container port at Sasa Wharf, Davao City. The Philippine Star reported that Mayor Duterte ordered the burning of the cocaine. Investigation found that the cocaine had arrived in Davao on November 17 from Pakistan by way of Malaysia. The van had been sitting in Davao for almost a month! I wonder how much cocaine had already been spirited out of those vans.
On March 22, 2014, Sumifru workers discovered 24 blocks of what was later determined to be cocaine hidden in compartments above a false ceiling of a container van at the Sumifru container yard in Tibungco, Davao. Sumifru is a worldwide distributor of fruits and the van was to be loaded with bananas. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte publicy announced that the mising blocks --- he knew exactly how many! --- had better be returned or else those who possessed them would be shot. If these were returned, there would be no questions asked.
Two days later, 27 blocks had been recovered, or a total of 51, with a street value of P306 million. Duterte announced that the drugs were for transshipment, not local use, but that they were still investigating the origin and destination.
Certain things are fishy. How did Duterte know how many blocks were missing? The police said they had a tip, but how could this be when they seemed to be in the dark about the existence of the drugs in the first place? Why the blanket announcement of "no questions asked" when there are so many questions that needed to be asked in the case of this enormous drug haul?
A news report stated that the van was later found to have arrived in Manila from Hong Kong on December 15, 2013. It was sent to Davao, arriving on January 8, 2014. The hidden stash of 24 blocks of cocaine was discovered by Sumifru workers on March 22, two and a half months later!
Are these points possible?
- The missing cocaine had been gradually sneaked out of the container van and sent elsewhere, probably Manila;
- The returned blocks were just for show and were not actually drugs;
- Duterte had no basis for saying the drugs were only for transshipment because at that time, the police did not yet know where the drugs came from or where they were going. How then was he so sure that they weren't sitting in Davao on purpose? Did the smugglers forget about their cocaine?
On June 2, 2014, the drugs, including the 2009 haul of cocaine, were reportedly burned at the Davao HOLCIM plant. Hey, Duterte had already ordered those burned in 2009! Were those really drugs? Remember the heroin that was captured and described in the book/film The French Connection? The $70 million worth of heroin in that case disappeared from the impregnable New York Police Department evidence storage, replaced with flour and corn starch.
Then, on November 23, 2014, again at the Sumifru wharf in Davao, a container van with 110 hidden but empty compartments was discovered.
So that leaves us again with the question --- do cocaine smugglers feels safe using Davao City as a storage area for their drugs? If they truly already lost P386 million worth of cocaine there, why did they continue to store their stock in Davao? Why would cocaine smugglers choose Davao of all places to store drugs when the mayor there is the most merciless against drug-related crimes and the only one notorious for actually killing suspects of these crimes?
Now let's cross-reference all this information with Senator Antonio Trillanes's findings:
The large cocaine stash was discovered on March 22, 2014. SIX DAYS LATER, on March 28, P193,705,614.94 was allegedly deposited in the BPI Julia Vargas account.
The container with the 110 empty compartments was discovered on November 23, 2014. SIXTEEN DAYS LATER, on December 9, P33,705,615.88 was allegedly deposited in the same BPI account.
Something just doesn't add up here. You be the judge.
Sources:
inquirer | philstar | rappler | mindanews | mindanaoexaminer | pdea.gov.ph | abs-cbn
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