PDEA: Sam Gor syndicate behind P7B worth of shabu found in PH waters
An international crime syndicate called the Sam Gor is behind the sacks containing over P7 billion worth of shabu recovered from Philippine waters recently, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Tuesday.
"Sam Gor is a five-drug triad alliance namely: the 14K, Bamboo Union, Big Circle Gang, Sun Yeen On, and Wo Shing Wo, whose leaders are based in Hong Kong and Taiwan,' PDEA director general Undersecretary Isagani Nerez said in a statement.
'Their members simply called it 'The Company,'' he added.
As of Monday, the PDEA said 56 local fishermen have surrendered a total of 1,038 kilos of suspected shabu worth P7,058,400,000 in 40 turnover incidents to authorities.
This is one of the country's largest maritime seizures of illegal drugs in recent years, according to the PDEA.
The sacks of shabu were found in the coastal areas of Dacap Sur, Bani; Boboy and Macaboboni, Agno; and Luciente I, Balingasay, Concordia and Poblacion, Bolinao—all located in the province of Pangasinan
Some were found in Barangay Mantanas and Dili in Sta Cruz, Ilocos Sur. Floating shabu was also found off the waters of Masinloc, Zambales.
'Based on the packaging of shabu packs recovered in Philippine shores, they were contained in teabags with Chinese markings - a signature trademark associated with Sam Gor,' Nerez said.
"Sam Gor gained notoriety by engaging in all sorts of unconventional methods of drug smuggling, including the use of the high seas. They dump their illicit goods to be retrieved later by contact local cohorts. It's a good thing that our hero fishermen got there first before the drugs fell into the wrong hands,' he added.
Citing reports, the PDEA said Sam Gor operates in various countries across the Asia-Pacific Region, including the Philippines.
'It is largely involved in trafficking methamphetamine, and is believed to have an estimated 40 to 70 percent control of the drug market in the region, raking up profits up to more than $17 billion in revenue a year,' the PDEA said.
'Aside from shabu, the syndicate also funnels big proportions of heroin, ketamine, other synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals,' it added.
The PDEA said Sam Gor is named after the nickname of its suspected founder/leader, 'Tse Chi Lop', a Chinese-Canadian who was arrested four years ago in the Netherlands. He was eventually extradited to Australia in December 2022 to face drug trafficking charges.
According to the PDEA, he is considered Asia's 'El Chapo', a reference to Joaquin Guzman, a former Mexican drug lord who became one of the world's most powerful traffickers of narcotics. —RF, GMA Integrated News
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