MANILA: A member of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group on Wednesday, Oct 28, detailed her involvement in the alleged shipment of 521 kilograms of shabu worth 3.5 billion pesos (US$60 million) that was intercepted in Laos on Oct 1.
Police Executive Master Sergeant Aileen Jayne Manalo Mendoza, however, maintained that the aircraft her friend had asked her to rent was supposed to carry vapes and cigarettes.
“Vapes and cigarettes, Mr Chair,” Mendoza said when Sen Raffy Tulfo asked about it during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services.
“Okay, you knew that vapes and cigarettes were prohibited, right?” Tulfo, the committee chair, asked.
“My understanding, Mr Chair, is that there are certain requirements, including payments to be made by the consignee here in the Philippines,” Mendoza explained.
Mendoza said her friend, Aldren Samante, had approached her to look for an aircraft. She found ALS Aviation, which she said a certain Captain Toledo owned.
One of the persons of interest in the foiled drug smuggling operation, earlier identified by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, was Rioklyn Pizarras Toledo, who reportedly booked an aircraft from Malaysia and arranged its flight to Laos.
Mendoza said Samante had a jewellery business and that they met at a gathering. She added that Colonel Rudy Isidro, an alleged member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, had asked Samante to speak to her.
Isidro was also among those identified as persons of interest in the foiled drug shipment.
On Sept 15, Mendoza said Samante visited her and introduced Isidro to her in a parking lot.
“Before Samante spoke to me at that time, he and Colonel Isidro had already approached others to look for a chartered private jet,” Mendoza said.
“Since they couldn’t find a chartered flight, he approached me about it. I then found ALS, which is owned by Captain Toledo,” she added.
When Tulfo pressed her on what her participation would have been had the drug shipment not been intercepted, Mendoza reiterated that her role was limited to finding a private jet.
After paying Toledo, she said he gave her a contract stating that the flight was scheduled for Sept 30. She was later informed, however, that it had been cancelled and rescheduled for Oct 3.
“I just looked for an aircraft. Once I found one and received the contract from ALS, I handed it to Samante and Colonel Isidro. That was the extent of my involvement. I had no further transactions after that,” she said. - inquirer/ANN
