Suspect in Batangas ‘shabu’ seizure ex-US Army man

[Lee]

Quote

 

The suspect who was arrested in one of the country’s biggest drug hauls earlier this week was a former US Army soldier, the Philippine National Police said on Thursday.

Calabarzon regional police chief Brig. Gen. Paul Kenneth Lucas did not specify the relevance of the information, but he identified the suspect as Alajon Michael Zarate, 47, of Quezon City, who left the Philippines and migrated to the United States when he was 8 years old.

Zarate enlisted in the US Army in 1997, but left the service in 2005 before he returned to the Philippines, Lucas said at a press briefing. “He returned in 2008 and built a fitness center somewhere in Metro Manila. That’s all what we could say for now about the suspect,” he added.

Zarate was driving the passenger van, supposedly bound for Parañaque City, that was flagged down at a local police checkpoint for a routine inspection in Alitagtag, Batangas, on April 15.

Police officers grew suspicious of him because he appeared distressed when he was asked to present his driver’s license.

When Zarate was asked to remove the covering of his cargo, the police discovered sacks and large plastic bags that supposedly contained 1.4 tons of crystal meth, locally known as “shabu.”

 

Read more.   Suspect in Batangas ‘shabu’ seizure ex-US Army man (msn.com)

 

[craftbeerlover]

47 minutes ago, Lee said:

Read more.   Suspect in Batangas ‘shabu’ seizure ex-US Army man (msn.com)

 

WOW....  13 BILLION!   I watched a couple youtube videos regarding this arrest, and noticed they repeated many many many times he was US Army, keep in mind he is Filipino, and was born here.  

[scott h]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

migrated to the United States when he was 8 years old.

So, if a singer, model, actress, athlete who was born, raised or educated overseas, or nurse who takes foreign citizenship but gives the first covid injection in her new country they are all really "PINOY" But break a law,,,,,it must be the fault of that dreaded foreign influence. 

[Old55]

A Foreigner did it! A Foreigner did it! 

The sad thing is the authorities will never investigate any deeper. 

"The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) earlier estimated the confiscated illegal drugs at P13 billion, but based on the official tallies, it was found to amount to P9.68 billion." *

Curious what happened to the other P3+ Billion? 

 

 

 

* https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1931289/suspect-in-batangas-shabu-seizure-ex-us-army-man

Edited April 20 by Old55

[craftbeerlover]

3 hours ago, Old55 said:

The sad thing is the authorities will never investigate any deeper. 

I had my wife translate the youtube videos, and the entire event smells of something fishy.   This guy is very well connected: artists, congressmen etc... He seems pretty well off.    How do you fit 1.2 tons of drugs in a van?   They claim he could not produce a drivers license, even though he has been living here for almost 20 years.   Supposedly he was paid 6k to drive this van filled with 1.2 tons of drugs "6K" to haul 13 BILLION pesos worth of shabu.   LOT OF DRUGS, No drivers license, and yet he chooses to drive thru a checkpoint vs just going home and trying another day or a different route.   Me thinks the people that came up with this BS, might be the same people that thought it a good idea to put a barrier between husband and wife, on a motorcycle, during the pandemic.  Or maybe the same people in power that said they cannot arrest an individual that purposely ran over another individual (on camera), because 10 days had passed.   Seriously are there any brains in this country?   Seriously asking.   

[hk blues]

14 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

I had my wife translate the youtube videos, and the entire event smells of something fishy.   This guy is very well connected: artists, congressmen etc... He seems pretty well off.    How do you fit 1.2 tons of drugs in a van?   They claim he could not produce a drivers license, even though he has been living here for almost 20 years.   Supposedly he was paid 6k to drive this van filled with 1.2 tons of drugs "6K" to haul 13 BILLION pesos worth of shabu.   LOT OF DRUGS, No drivers license, and yet he chooses to drive thru a checkpoint vs just going home and trying another day or a different route.   Me thinks the people that came up with this BS, might be the same people that thought it a good idea to put a barrier between husband and wife, on a motorcycle, during the pandemic.  Or maybe the same people in power that said they cannot arrest an individual that purposely ran over another individual (on camera), because 10 days had passed.   Seriously are there any brains in this country?   Seriously asking.   

I suspect that most of the things which make as scratch our head have a backstory - nothing is as bewildering as it seems IMO.  

[Gator]

As usual I doubt the public will ever know the real story. Happens all over the world, not just here. The only thing I can speculate about in such a large seizure: it’s either a rival cartel who informs on their competitor or an inside informant. 

[Lee1154]

2 hours ago, craftbeerlover said:

I had my wife translate the youtube videos, and the entire event smells of something fishy.   This guy is very well connected: artists, congressmen etc... He seems pretty well off.    How do you fit 1.2 tons of drugs in a van?   They claim he could not produce a drivers license, even though he has been living here for almost 20 years.   Supposedly he was paid 6k to drive this van filled with 1.2 tons of drugs "6K" to haul 13 BILLION pesos worth of shabu.   LOT OF DRUGS, No drivers license, and yet he chooses to drive thru a checkpoint vs just going home and trying another day or a different route.   Me thinks the people that came up with this BS, might be the same people that thought it a good idea to put a barrier between husband and wife, on a motorcycle, during the pandemic.  Or maybe the same people in power that said they cannot arrest an individual that purposely ran over another individual (on camera), because 10 days had passed.   Seriously are there any brains in this country?   Seriously asking.   

Brains?  It is like looking for an Easter Egg during the Christmas holidays. ha

[hk blues]

39 minutes ago, Lee1154 said:

Brains?  It is like looking for an Easter Egg during the Christmas holidays. ha

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/easter-eggs-tesco-rugby-easter-egg-staffordshire-b2471835.html 

[craftbeerlover]

4 hours ago, Gator said:

As usual I doubt the public will ever know the real story. Happens all over the world, not just here. The only thing I can speculate about in such a large seizure: it’s either a rival cartel who informs on their competitor or an inside informant. 

None of the above, this guy did not need 6 thousand pesos to haul billions of pesos of drugs.   Nor would he drive thru a police check point with billions of pesos of drugs, with no drivers license.   Show me a van that can haul 1.2 tons of anything.  The entire story is ridiculous horseshit.    These types of things may happen all over the world, but they do happen with regularity here, unlike most of the rest of the world.