MANILA: Philippine Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has questioned why Sultan Edrieza Hadji Nasser Rimbang, described as the alleged “financier of the entire operation” behind a Laos drug shipment, was not included on the drug war watchlist under former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“What I find puzzling is why Rimbang wasn’t included on the watchlist during the drug war, even though he was already a known drug figure long before that,” Remulla told reporters on Tuesday after the 20th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime.
Rimbang was a former member of parliament of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Remulla also said that the Duterte family was not linked to the attempted shipment of illegal drugs from Laos to the Philippines.
“No evidence pointing to that,” Remulla said, adding that Rimbang personally knew Duterte.
“They are more than friends. They have been political allies for the longest time,” Remulla added. Inquirer/ANN
