3 Chinese nationals get life for drugs

Three Chinese nationals have been sentenced to life in prison for trafficking shabu worth an estimated P3.41 million in Batangas.

The Tanauan City Regional Trial Court Branch 83 found A Ming, Yan Xing Xue and Ko Xiao Ya guilty of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The court also ordered them to pay a P500,000 fine.

The ruling, dated Aug. 17, was issued in a 35-page decision made public by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. The defendants were arrested in May 2024 after a pursuit operation in Barangay San Andres, Malvar.

Police said the men had sold 502.6 grams of shabu to a police poseur buyer in nearby Barangay Santiago. After realizing they were dealing with an anti-narcotics agent, the suspects allegedly drew their guns and fled by vehicle. Officers later cornered them at the Malvar tollway after an exchange of fire.

PDEA director general Isagani Nerez said the conviction showed that lawful operations could lead to justice from arrest through trial. “We want the public to know that when an arrest is made, the case will not simply disappear. This conviction gives that assurance,” Nerez said. He also praised the courts and the Department of Justice for helping ensure that drug offenders are imprisoned.

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We want the public to know that when an arrest is made, the case will not simply disappear. This conviction gives that assurance.