Kenneth Dong pleads not guilty in P6.4-B drug smuggling case

By Ria Fernandez 

The alleged middleman in the P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China that was seized in a Valenzuela warehouse in May 2017 has pleaded not guilty during arraignment before a Manila court Monday afternoon.

Chinese-Filipino businessman Kenneth Dong, suspected of being involved in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) into the country in 2017 attends the arraigment at the Manila RTC branch 46 on monday.(Ali Vicoy / MANILA BULLETIN)

Kenneth Dong was heavily guarded by elements of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) when he arrived at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch 46 past 1 p.m. on Feb. 18.

He pleaded not guilty for the drug smuggling case committed in 2017.

Presiding Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa scheduled the pre-trial for Dong’s case on Tuesday (February 19) at 1:30 p.m.

Early this month, Dong was arrested by the agents of the National Bureau of Investigation-Anti-Organized Transnational Crime Division (NBI-AOTCD) in Katarungan Village, Muntinlupa City after several months of hiding.

Lawyer Raymond Fortun, legal counsel of co-accused Mark Taguba, pointed out that there will be an “invariable delay” in the trial proceedings since the Court will have to give Dong’s camp the opportunity to cross-examine first the pieces of evidence previously presented by the prosecution.

This will also be the case once the other suspects, who are still at-large, are presented before the court.

In the meantime, Fortun said that they were waiting for the Court’s decision on the petitions for bail filed by Taguba and EMT owner Eirene Tatad.

“It’s already submitted for resolution. We are just waiting for the Court’s resolution,” he said.