At around 1am on Thu, Jan 21, members of a special unit of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) raided a suspected shabu laboratory at the Celadon Residences on Felix Huertas Street in Sta. Cruz, Manila. They are shocked to run into their former chief.
“Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, who led several high-profile operations when he headed the PDEA Special Enforcement Service (SES), told the raiding team that he was conducting intelligence operations. However, the PDEA and members of the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) did not buy his story,” report Cecille Suerte Felipe and Rey Galupo in The Philippine Star.
Among those arrested with Marcelino was Yan Yi Shuo (alias Randy), who had served as an interpreter at the PDEA when Marcelino was SES chief in 2005.
PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac Jr. stated that “Marcelino and Yan would be charged with violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.”
The report noted: “The raiding team was armed with a search warrant issued by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The warrant reportedly stated that the townhouse serves as a storage facility for illegal drugs. Seized in the raid were 64 kilos of suspected shabu with a street value of PHP256 million and a Toyota Camry.”
