Nakumpirma sa laboratory examination na positibong cocaine ang nasamsam sa isang pinaghihinalaang drug trafficker mula sa Mexico na naaresto kamakailan ng mga tauhan ng Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at Philippine National Police (PNP) sa Makati City.

Sinabi ni PDEA Director General Arturo G. Cacdac na lumitaw sa chemistry ng PDEA Laboratory Service na purong cocaine na may timbang na 2,265 gramo ang nakumpiska ng arresting team mula kay Horacio Herrera Hernandez, tubong Mexico City, na isinilid niya sa 10 sachet.

Naaresto si Hernandez sa buy-bust operation sa harap ng isang Korean restaurant sa Makati Avenue, Barangay Poblacion, Makati City nitong Linggo.

Base sa intelligence report, sinabi ni Cacdac na si Hernandez ay leader ng Sinaloa Drug Cartel sa Mexico at may operasyon sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo.

“Hernandez’s arrest has proved one thing—that the Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel has been actively operating in the country for over a year now as evidenced by the confiscation of some P420 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, during a joint PDEA-PNP Christmas Day raid in 2013 at a game fowl ranch in Lipa City, Batangas where the seized illegal drugs are said to have been smuggled. The ranch is leased by Mexican nationals who are alleged members of the drug cartel,” pahayag ni Cacdac.

Sinabi pa ni Cacdac na ginagamit ng kilabot na Sinaloa drug syndicate ang Pilipinas bilang transshipment point bago ipinupuslit ang droga sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng mundo.

“Sa ngayon, mukhang sinusubukan ng grupo ni Hernandez kung may merkado ang cocaine sa Pilipinas,” ayon sa PDEA chief. - Francis Wakefield