malaysiangMANILA: The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday presented to the media a Vietnamese national who yielded several party drugs during a recent anti-illegal drugs operation.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago identified the suspect as Van Thai Nguyen, a.k.a. Van Vinh Nguyen, and Van Quan Nguyen, who was arrested in a buy-bust last July 10 by operatives of the NBI – Dangerous Drugs Division (NBI-DDD).
Following a warrant issued by the Parañaque City Regional Trial Court, Santiago said a search of the suspect’s rented condo unit on July 19 yielded 53 ecstasy tablets and 14 grams of ketamine, as well as boxes of stuffed toys used to conceal and traffic the illegal drugs.
A tablet of ecstasy has a street value of PHP2,000, while ketamine is at PHP12,000 per gram.
Ecstasy is a popular party drug, while ketamine is abused for its dissociative sensations and hallucinogenic effects, and for date rapes, Santiago said.
Also found in Nguyen’s residence were falsified documents supposedly showing that he is a wor
ker in the country with a 9G working visa that is valid until 2026, as shown in his Alien Certificate of Registration.
NBI senior operative Jonathan Galicia said the drugs were apparently being sold online and delivered by unwitting motorcycle delivery riders, who thought they were merely delivering stuffed toys to Nguyen’s mostly foreign customers.
In coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Nguyen has also been positively identified as the one who left a black Louis Vuitton bag containing illegal drugs, cash, and identification cards in a taxi in December 2023.
The bag was turned over by the driver to Senator Raffy Tulfo during a live telecast of his radio program, and later turned over to the PDEA.
Nguyen was charged with violation of Section 5 of RA No. 9165 before the City Prosecutor of Paranaque City.
Additional charges will be filed against him including violation of Section 11 of RA No. 9165 (Falsification of Documents), and RA No. 6085 (Illegal Use of Aliases).
Source:
Philippines News Agency
