Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan (Facebook)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) must step up in order to identify and prosecute the masterminds behind the P2.7-billion "shabu" shipment from Karachi, Pakistan, that was intercepted in Manila last month.

Thus, said House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan, who noted that the continued smuggling of shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride through the Port of Manila indicated that the key figures behind these operations remained at large. 

“We urge the DOJ to strengthen its pursuit of the real masterminds behind this recent drug smuggling operation, as well as all previous shabu consignments that have entered through the Port of Manila,” Libanan said in a statement on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

“The scale and complexity of these drug operations suggest that high-level individuals are orchestrating these illicit activities, profiting from the suffering of communities and posing a grave threat to public safety,” he warned.

Libanan says that the real perpetrators remain hidden, operating with impunity. 

“These individuals must be identified, exposed, apprehended, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.

A lawyer by profession, Libanan previously served as chairperson of the House Committee on Justice.

On January 23, a joint task force comprising the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) intercepted 405 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) at the Port of Manila. The drugs were concealed inside a shipment of vermicelli and custards.

The operation was launched after the NBI received intelligence from a foreign counterpart regarding the incoming shipment from Karachi.

Following the confiscation, the DOJ apprehended and filed charges against the cargo consignee, two customs brokers, and two top executives of the freight forwarding company responsible for handling the shipment.

Libanan underscored the need for authorities to take a more aggressive approach in dismantling drug smuggling networks. 

“While the recent arrests of key operatives mark progress, justice remains incomplete until the masterminds are held accountable,” he said.

"Authorities must move beyond arresting low-level operatives and focus on dismantling the leadership structure that enables these illegal drug operations to persist,” he added.