PETALING JAYA: An opposition politician from Mindanao allegedly funded the chartering of a private jet used to transport 521kg of methamphetamine seized in Laos, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
PDEA spokesman Joseph Frederick Calulut said the agency had identified the alleged financier but was withholding the person's identity as investigations were ongoing.
“We have identified the financier behind this drug operation. This politician is based in the south, in Mindanao,” Calulut told reporters on Thursday, according to Makati City-based news outlet Inquirer.Net.
Calulut cited operational security and protocols that prohibited naming suspects before formal charges are filed with the department of justice.
The drugs were allegedly intended for transport aboard a private jet chartered for US$49,500.
Last week, Bukit Aman narcotics crime investigation department director Hussein Omar Khan said a Filipino national, believed to be the mastermind of a drug smuggling syndicate, had booked the private jet about a week before the seizure on Sept 23.
Hussein said the individual had engaged a private aviation company, owned by two Malaysian pilots and two Singaporeans, for a flight from Laos to Manila, with the cargo declared as vape products.
He said information about the declared cargo was obtained from the flight manifest secured in Subang and from Laotian authorities.
The jet had departed Subang for Luang Prabang International Airport in Laos without any drugs on board. The 521kg of crystal methamphetamine, packed in 500 packages and believed to be destined for Manila, was allegedly loaded onto the aircraft after it arrived in Laos.
Thirteen people, including the pilot, co-pilot, Filipino passengers and airport and ground service personnel, were detained by Laotian authorities to assist in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Calulut said the PDEA investigation had expanded beyond two Filipino suspects previously identified by their aliases, Fahad and Boyet.
“We have also identified their associates,” he said, without specifying how many people were involved.
Fahad has been arrested by Laotian authorities and is expected to face charges, while Boyet was last reported to be in Hong Kong.