A HIGH-RANKING police official bared an alleged plan by members of a notorious gang of robbers to spring from jail a Chinese national convicted of drug trafficking in exchange for P50 million.
Police Chief Supt. Federico Laciste, deputy chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Southern Luzon (DIPO-SL) told Justice Secretary Leila De Lima that the plot to rescue convicted drug lord Jackson Dy was discovered after the arrest of a member of the dreaded Ampang-Colangco robbery hold-up group by member of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

“(Dy) hired the services of the Ampang-Colangco group to rescue him during his transport from his jail cell to the Trece Martirez Regional Trial Court Branch 23... Reportedly (Dy) paid P50 million to the group,” Laciste, who played a key role in the arrest of the drug trafficker, told De Lima in a letter dated August 31, 2011.

Unholy alliance
In his letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times, Laciste said Dy met the leader of the Ampang group in jail and they became close friends.

He said that based on the results of the CIDG’s tactical interrogation on the arrested gang member, the contract for the rescue plan was sealed inside prison.

“The last attempt for the rescue was aborted for the group sensed the presence of the police in the target area,” Laciste said.

The police official, who went to De Lima for help in prosecuting high profile drug suspects, blamed the “passive treatment” being accorded by jail personnel to suspected bigtime drug traffickers who are allowed to “use cellphones which is a big help to continue their illegal activities or any other activities that could affect the case.”

Laciste said the rescue plan was to have been implemented last June, when Dy last attended a hearing in Cavite.

Dy was arrested in 2003 by members of the Anti-Illegal Drug-Special Operation Task Force (AID-SOTF) following a raid that led to the discovery of P2.8 billion worth of shabu (metampethamine hydrchloride) and its ingredients from the druglord’s house in Parañaque City.

Laciste, who was then project coordinator of AID-SOTF, said Dy bought the Unit B-105 of the Marina Bay Homes some three months before the raid for P7 million. Two other Chinese nationals were nabbed along with Dy.

Convicted
On April 29,2009, a Paranaque City court convicted Dy and his wife, Wang Li Na, with the help of state prosecutors. Apart from this, Dy still has a pending case in Cavite where he used to operate a shabu laboratory.

On the other hand, the Ampang-Colangco group was allegedly behind the bloody armored-van robbery try at the ShoeMart (SM) Sucat mall in Parañaque City some years ago and the attempt to rob an armored van at another SM mall in Pampanga in 2005. The leaders of the group were initially arrested but were able to post bail.

Reports said the Ampang-Colangco group was considered one of the biggest robbery/hold-up syndicates operating in Central and Southern Luzon.

The gang usually deployed 25 to 30 members for each operation and had been linked to past bank robberies at the SM Southmall in Las Piñas, SM City in North Edsa in Quezon City.
In 2005, police arrested nine suspected members of the Ampang-Colangco Gang at the SM City in San Fernando City in Pampanga.

Predicaments
During their meeting yesterday, Laciste briefed De Lima on a number of “predicaments” that members of his team and some witnesses have been facing due mainly to the lack of support from state prosecutors.

Before, the DOJ Task Force on Illegal Drugs was active in prosecuting high-profile drug cases which led to the arrest of several suspects and the dismantling of several drug labs.

“Lately, some of the drug cases handled by my team were left by DOJ state prosecutor to local assistant city prosecutors.... This is one of the predicaments of my team. We do not say that we do not trust the local prosecutors but a high profile drug case where more than 100 kgs. of shabu and more than 700 kgs. of ephedrine are involved, a team of State Prosecutors should handle the case,” said Laciste.

He specifically sought De Lima’s help in prosecuting the drug case against William Gan, the suspected
leader of one of the biggest drug syndicates in the country.

Another predicament, Laciste added, was the fact that since the DOJ prosecutors have left their cases, the safety of witnesses has been compromised. One witness whom he identified as Robert Uy was originally a suspect. However, Uy was taken in as state witness when his cooperation with the police led to at least five anti-drug accomplishments in just two months.

“Robert Uy applied for the witness protection program of the DOJ and was approved through the recommendation of state prosecutor II Pablo Formaran and Olivia Torrevillas. The prosecutor also filed a motion todischarge (Uy) as accused in the case before the Valenzuela RTC Branch 171 but was denied by Judge Maria Nena Santos,” Laciste stressed.

He pointed out that the DOJ should push for the removal of Uy from the drug case because he was a state witness.