MANILA, Nov 21 — A foreign national and member of the Sam Gor International Drug Syndicate was sentenced to life imprisonment after the court convicted him in a ₱10 billion (US$169.4 million or RM702.7 million) drug case.
The Philippine News Agency reported the Drug Enforcement Agency's (PDEA) Director General Undersecretary Isagani Nerez as saying that the Regional Trial Court Branch 98 in Olongapo City found Kong Ket Koon, a Malaysian, guilty of violating Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
He was arrested on June 20 this year, after his fishing vessel F/B Christeve was found carrying 1.48 million grammes of shabu, valued at ₱10.07 billion, off the waters of Calapandayan, Subic, and Zambales barangays (villages).
Aside from life imprisonment, the accused was ordered to pay a fine of ₱10 million (RM702,803), with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the fishing boat in favour of the government.
The PDEA added that the Sam Gor syndicate is the same drug cartel linked to previous incidents involving tons of floating syabu recovered in the waters of Bataan, Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Pangasinan.
Authorities described the maritime interdiction as one of the largest thwarted drug trafficking attempts in the Philippines’ naval history.
“This is another moral victory for the national anti-drug campaign against high-profile foreign drug traffickers. The case was resolved in just five months, considering the significance of the volume of seized drugs and the profile of the personality involved.
“Swift justice inspires public confidence. For every case concluded with clarity and integrity, it strengthens the faith of our people in the system that serves them. For every timely verdict, it is not just a case closed, but a community reassured," Nerez said.
