Ex-BARMM lawmaker no-show at PDEA probe

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bangsamoro parliament member Edrieza Hadji Nasser Rimbang dodged a summons for him to appear on Thursday before the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which sought to question him over a suspected half-ton shipment of shabu from Laos worth about P1.5 billion.

Rimbang was identified by the PDEA and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as an alleged mastermind and financier of the shipment intercepted by authorities in Laos on Oct. 1.

PDEA spokesman Joseph Frederick Calulut said the agency was investigating the shipment’s links to an international drug syndicate believed to be involved in manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs across the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are still looking at this international drug syndicate. This is a large syndicate operating in the Asia-Pacific region, meaning the Philippines is not its only destination,” Calulut told “Frontline sa Umaga” on TV5 yesterday.

Rimbang had earlier denied the allegations in a video posted on Facebook, claiming they were politically motivated because of his ties to the Duterte family.

In a letter dated Oct. 26, he challenged DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla to release evidence supporting the accusations against him.

Other persons of interest summoned by the PDEA include the shipment’s consignee, identified as Abdulkarim Macalatas, and several unnamed individuals.

Calulut said authorities received an intelligence report from a foreign counterpart in September about renewed cross-border drug smuggling.

The information was relayed to the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which later detected suspected illegal substances in the shipment through X-ray screening and narcotics detection dogs.

He said investigators had identified the names listed as recipients but were still determining the identities of the actual consignees, as such shipments commonly use fictitious names.

The shipment was initially supposed to be claimed by its consignee so authorities could arrest the recipient. However, it was declared abandoned after it remained unclaimed within the period set by the BOC, prompting authorities to conduct a physical inspection.

Calulut said investigators had yet to establish whether the drugs seized in Laos and the shipment intercepted in the Philippines came from the same laboratory, although both originated from Laos.

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