RP seeks China, HK on drug triads

RP seeks China, HK on drug triads

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines is coordinating with police
authorities in China and Hong Kong to curb drug trafficking here
involving Chinese triads, Vice President Joseph Estrada said
yesterday.

Estrada, who heads the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission
(PACC), told a press forum that the PACC was shifting the bulk of
its operations after having lessened the incidence of ransom
kidnappings, which mostly targeted wealthy ethnic Chinese.

"Most crimes against persons were committed because of drugs,"
Estrada said, citing a first quarter police study on the peace
and order situation submitted to Philippine President Fidel
Ramos.

PACC units on Wednesday shot dead Jose Co, a Xiamen native who
allegedly ran a drug dealing operation in the Philippines by the
14-K gang which imported methampethamine hydrochloride, a banned
stimulant popularly known as "ice," from laboratories in China's
coastal Fujian province by way of Hong Kong.

Thirty kilograms of ice worth US$1.6 million were recovered
from the slain suspect's car, according to police.