(Eagle News) — After naming five police generals as having alleged links to drug operations, President Rodrigo Duterte has now named the top drug lords operating in the country.
Carrying a chart illustration of the drug network, the President identified three top drug lords still operating in the country. They are Chinese nationals Wu Tuan (also known as Peter Co) and Peter Lim (a.k.a. Jaguar).
He also named Herbert Colangco alias Ampang, who is detained at the New Bilibid Prison, as one of those involved in kidnapping for ransom and bank robberies. Colangco is likewise a drug lord aligned with the Parojinog drug syndicate Kuratong Baleleng.
Solicitor General Jose Calida said that there are five levels of the illegal drug triad operating in the country with members categorized according to the capability of the drug pusher to sell. He said, “level five is the top tier of the drug hierarchy.”
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Thursday, Calida also pointed to a certain Mr. Wu Tuan (alias “Peter Co”) who is detained in the National Penitentiary, as the one responsible for the Luzon triad, including Metro Manila. He is also the leader of the so-called Bilibid 19 Gang.
The next level 5 drug lord is a certain Peter Lim also known as “Jaguar” who is in charge of the Visayas triad. This person is different from the Jaguar who was killed in an operation recently in Las Piñas City.
They are believed to have at least 100 kilograms of illegal drugs in every transaction.
Based on the chart presented to Duterte by intelligence officers, retired police general, former Police Deputy Director Marcelo Garbo was an alleged associate and “coddler” of Co and Jaguar.
Duterte said Colangco worked with hotelier Richard King, who was killed in June 2014.
Garbo is one of the five Philippine National Police (PNP) generals named by President Duterte on Tuesday as protectors of drug syndicates in the country.
The retired police general was the former PNP Deputy Chief for Operations and former Regional Director of PNP Region VII based in Cebu City. He belongs to PMA class 1981.
Quoting President Duterte, Calida discussed at the press conference Garbo’s involvement in drug trafficking in the Philippines.
According to the Solicitor General, there are lesser triad members who are regarded as persons of interest which include Chinese nationals, other PNP officials, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology officials, as well as local government officials. PRRD will disclose their identities in future press conferences, he added.
Based on reports, Co and Colangco, although they have long been detained at the NBP, have managed to transact drug deals using their cellphones.
Because of this, the government is thinking of transferring the two to a detention center with no cellphone signal.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre III said that 75 percent of the country’s drug trade were being transacted from inside the NBP.
Duterte said that Peter Lim, alias Jaguar, is already out of the country. He warned him not to return to the Philippines or he would be killed.
