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PDEA: Int'l drug syndicate member gets life imprisonment over P10 M bust in Zambales

Philippines | National

PDEA: Int'l drug syndicate member gets life imprisonment over P10 M bust in Zambales

By Chito Chavez

A member of Sam Gor International drug syndicate was condemned to suffer life imprisonment for possession of around P10 million worth of shabu on board a fishing vessel in Zambales, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.

In a statement, PDEA Director General Isagani R. Nerez said Koon was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violation of Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165 or “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.’’

Aside from the life sentence, the court ordered Koon to pay a P10 million fine, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.

“The court also ordered the forfeiture of the fishing boat named “F/B Christeve” in favor of the government,’’ the PDEA noted.

Nerez explained that the Sam Gor syndicate is the same drug cartel linked to previous incidents involving tons of floating shabu recovered in the waters of Bataan, Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan.

Koon was arrested on June 20 this year after authorities intercepted his vessel carrying a massive cache of shabu packs off the waters of Barangay Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales,’’ the PDEA stated.

Nerez described the maritime interdiction as one of the largest thwarted drug trafficking attempts in the Philippines’ naval history.

“This is another moral victory for the national anti-drug campaign against high-profile foreign drug traffickers. The case was resolved in just five months considering the significance of the volume of seized drugs and the profile of the personality involved,” Nerez said.

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