Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has identified former Bangsamoro Transition Authority member Sultan Edrieza Hadji Nasser Rimbang as an alleged financier in the case involving 521 kilograms of suspected shabu seized in Laos.
At a press briefing at Malacañang, Remulla presented several persons of interest in the alleged attempt to smuggle the drugs into the Philippines. Investigations by the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency indicate that a private jet was supposed to carry the shipment from Laos to Manila.
Those identified as persons of interest include Rohaniah E. Rimbang; Rioklyn Pizarras Toledo, known as “Boyet,” who allegedly chartered the jet from Malaysia to Laos; PEMS Aileen Jayne Manalo Mendoza of the PNP Aviation Security Group; and Abdulkarim Macalatas, who was allegedly expected to receive the shipment in Manila.
Investigators allege Toledo contacted Mendoza to arrange the aircraft’s arrival and the hangar where it would land. Authorities in Laos previously arrested a suspect identified as Fahad Dibarosan.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said Mendoza had been relieved from her post and placed under restrictive custody.
Asked about a photograph showing Rimbang’s wife with former President Rodrigo Duterte, Remulla said they belonged to the same political party.
Remulla said the names identified in the investigation contradicted earlier narratives that people from Manila were involved in the transaction.
Vice President Sara Duterte earlier expressed “deep regret” that the Philippines had been implicated in the Asian drug trade.
Remulla also advocated labeling narcotics traffickers as terrorist organizations. The allegations involving the persons of interest remain under investigation.
The briefing outlined an alleged route involving a private jet chartered from Malaysia, traveling to Laos before continuing to Manila. Authorities have not made a determination of responsibility, and individuals named were described as persons of interest in the investigation.
