PDEA: Mindanao politician allegedly financed Laos drug haul

MANILA — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Thursday a politician from the southern Philippines was the alleged financier behind the drug cargo bound for the Philippines and intercepted in Laos.

“We identified him during our investigation after nung mangyari yung incident na yun… Base doon sa investigation namin ng task group, lumabas nga na itong pulitikong ito ang nagbigay ng pondo para doon sa pag charter nung flight,” PDEA spokesperson Joseph Frederick Calulut.

“According to our investigation, he’s a politician from the south. This person is a politician from the south. [His] political party is against the current administration,” he added. 

The intercepted drugs are reportedly linked to a drug syndicate operating within the Philippines, the official said. 

Calulut said PDEA could not yet share pertinent details on how long the drug syndicate had been operating in the country, as this could undermine the ongoing case buildup.

“We cannot specifically state that muna no. Kasi, we are currently preparing our case that we will file against these individuals,” Calulut said.

PDEA said it was tracking down possible drug syndicates connected to the Laos case.

“May mga na-track na kami, we’ve identified the other players, yung kanilang cohorts na-identify na rin,” Calulut said. 

He added that Lao authorities had been cautious about the information being relayed to the Philippine government regarding the Filipino who was arrested in connection with the Oct. 1 drug seizure. 

As of this time, the only information available to PDEA is that the Filipino citizen remains incarcerated in Laos.