(UPDATED) LOCAL Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Friday identified a former Bangsamoro parliament member as among the 11 persons of interest linked to the aborted shipment of 521 kilograms of shabu worth P3.5 billion from Laos.
During a briefing in Malacañang, Remulla said the persons of interest were named based on the initial investigation by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
“This is based on facts, actual documents and extensive police work. This is not a guess, not an accusation, and not a staged performance... This is information obtained in collaboration with our counterparts in Southeast Asia,” said Remulla in Filipino.
He said the ex-parliamentarian, Edriezan Hadji Nasser Rimbang, was the primary financier of the shabu shipment.
Rimbang’s wife, Rohaniah, was a former political ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Remulla said.
“They are from the same political party, but this is to counter the narrative people are developing that people from Manila are the ones involved in this kipper. This operation was between Sultan Edrieza Rimbang Nasser and his cohorts,” Remulla said.
Rioklyn “Boyet” Pizarras Toledo, a former commercial pilot fired for drug involvement, procured the aircraft in Malaysia and coordinated the plane’s flight to Laos.
Toledo was arrested by PDEA in 2012 after he sold shabu to an undercover agent.
Using funds provided by Rimbang, Police Executive Master Sgt. Aileen Jayne Manalo Mendoza of the PNP Aviation Security Group secured arrival permits and hangar access at the MAPTRA Hangar in Manila’s general aviation area.
Fahad Mulok Dibarosan, Rimbang’s brother-in-law, handled the shipment on the ground in Laos, but was apprehended by Laotian authorities before the plane could take off from Luang Prabang International Airport.
Also implicated were several other individuals, including designated Manila consignee Abdulkarim Macalatas, airline operations manager Christian Fabrigas, along with Aldren Nadal Samante, Rudy Isidro, Hilario de Vera and Toledo’s live-in partner Marie Clarisse Carmelotes.
Remulla said the investigation is continuing to find out if other politicians were involved.
In a separate briefing, PNP spokesman Col. Allen Rae Co assured there is no politics involved in building the case against Rimbang’s group.
“Hindi tayo nakikihalo sa pulitika. Ang sa atin ay all our investigations are evidence-based, based on facts and based on documents, ’yun lang ang sa atin. Kaya nga ang sinasabi natin dito ang nilalabas lang natin ay kaya lang natin ilaban sa korte (We do not meddle in politics. All our investigations are evidence-based, based on facts and based on documents — that is all there is to it for us. That is why what we are saying here is that we only release what we can defend in court),” Co said.
