US charges 3 Chinese for fentanyl trafficking

WASHINGTON - Three Chinese citizens have been charged with distributing fentanyl in the United States, where addiction spurred by the synthetic opioid drug has ravaged communities, US prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Deyao Chen, Guichun Chen and Liangtu Pan are accused of selling nearly 3,000 packages of controlled substances in the US and internationally between April 2016 and March 2017.

The drugs were sold on websites located in China and mailed to the United States, where they were distributed via the US Postal Service by a Pennsylvania former deputy sheriff named David Landis. 

Drugs sold by the three defendants had been found in the systems of five people in the United States who overdosed and died, according to a Justice Department statement.

Deyao, Guichun and Liangtu, who share the alias "Alex," took online orders from China and then mailed the drugs to Landis for distribution.

The three Chinese nationals have not been arrested and are believed to be in China, a spokesman told AFP.

Landis has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, the statement read. 

Their indictments come amid a quarrel between Washington and Beijing about fentanyl trafficking -- a substance 50 times stronger than heroine, which, along with other synthetic opioids, caused 32,000 US deaths in 2018.

President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on China over the summer as a response to what he saw as their failure to stem the flow of fentanyl into the US. The two countries have since pledged to work together to fight the proliferation of the drug. 

"China is supplying the United States with the most potent and deadly fentanyl and other synthetic opioids on the market today," US Attorney William M. McSwain said in the statement. 

"International suppliers beware: you cannot hide behind a computer or evade our detection by drug trafficking from a far-away place," he warned.

Beijing has rejected responsibility for the US addiction crisis.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

What changed Widodo's mind on Mary Jane Veloso

MANILA, Philippines - A meeting with a labor group in Indonesia may have prompted Indonesian president Joko Widodo to change his mind on executing Mary Jane Veloso.

In an interview with ANC, Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care Indonesia, said she met on Tuesday afternoon with Widodo who unexpectedly asked about Veloso's case.

Hidayah said she discussed the details of the case and appealed to the Indonesian president to spare the Filipina's life.

"We are also talking about the issue of Mary Jane. We talked to him that actually Mary Jane is the victim of human traffciking that also happened with many Indonesia migrant workers abroad also facing death penalty," she said.

Hidayah said they wanted to make sure Widodo was informed about the vulnerability of migrant workers, particularly from the Philippines and Indonesia, to drug smuggling rings.

She said she told Widodo that Veloso was a victim of the drug traffickers, and that her recruiter Maria Kristina Sergio had already surrendered to authorities.

"His first response was he was worried many people would testify that they are victims... But we made the illustration about the cases of Indonesian migrant workers in China, Malaysia and other countries, same with the case of Mary Jane," she said.

Hidayah said she was crying when she talked to Widodo about Veloso's case.

"I was crying when I illustrated the case of migrant workers, the case of Mary Jane, I said to him, 'if we kill the victims and tomorrow or next time we will find a new evidence, how can we be responsible for this, after the execution," she said.

The Indonesian government unexpectedly spared Veloso from execution at dawn on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General's Office said it had delayed the execution of Veloso, a housemaid and mother of two who was arrested in 2010 after she arrived in Yogyakarta with 2.6 kg of heroin hidden in her suitcase.

He said the delay was in response to a request from Manila after an employment recruiter, whom Veloso had accused of planting the drugs in her luggage, gave herself up to police in the Philippines on Tuesday. - With ANC and Reuters

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Court rejects 2nd appeal of Mary Jane

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - An Indonesian court on Monday rejected the second appeal for judicial review of Filipino Mary Jane Veloso, who is set to be executed Tuesday after being convicted of drug trafficking.

Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers, said he received a report from his colleagues that the court has rejected the second appeal.

"I was informed by some of my colleagues reportedly...that the second judicial review has been denied by the court but I need to check it out...on the accuracy of the report," he said in an interview on ANC's Top Story.

He said if the report is accurate, then the political approach or the plea for clemency by Philippine leaders will be the only approach left to save the life of Veloso.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Charles Jose said the Philippine embassy in Jakarta has confirmed that the second appeal of Veloso has been rejected.

Jose said that according to Sleman District Court, the second appeal was denied based on a Supreme Court rule that only one appeal is allowed.

He said the embassy is now asking Indonesia if the discussions of President Aquino with Indonesian President Joko Widodo this morning "may open another window."

Veloso was arrested after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin sewn into her suitcase at the Yogyakarta Airport in 2010. Her lawyers and family have said Mary Jane was unaware that the drug stash was in her bag.

Aquino met with Widodo on Monday to appeal the case of Veloso.

The meeting happened past 10 am Monday in a pull-aside meeting during the plenary session of the 26th ASEAN Summit. The meeting lasted around five minutes.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Widodo showed sympathy when Aquino first raised the issue.

“President Aquino appealed for humanitarian consideration for Mary Jane Veloso who was apparently duped into being an unwitting carrier of illegal drugs. He said President Widodo was sympathetic and was consulting with the Indonesian Attorney General on the legal issues. President Widodo promised to resume the conversation with President Aquino later today,” Coloma said.

In a separate press conference, Jose expressed hope the ASEAN connection will somehow provide a leeway for Veloso. “That’s what we are hoping for in the diplomatic approach that we are initiating.”

Veloso may be executed at 5 p.m. on April 28. - with a report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Mexican judge orders trial for drug kingpin

MEXICO CITY - A Mexican judge decided Tuesday to put drug baron Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on trial even as authorities left the door open to extraditing the fallen kingpin to the United States.

The National Judicial Council said in a statement that Guzman was formally ordered to stay in prison for "organized crime with intent to commit crimes against health" -- a legal euphemism for drug trafficking.

Guzman, 56, has three days to appeal the ruling, which represents the first formal charges against the Sinaloa cartel boss since Mexican marines captured him in a US-backed operation on Saturday in a Pacific beach town.

The attorney general's office plans to lodge additional charges against Guzman, including using funds from illegal activities and possession of weapons reserved for the military.

Meanwhile, US prosecutors have announced plans to file an extradition request. Guzman faces drug trafficking charges in several US jurisdictions from New York to Chicago and San Diego, California.

His arrest was a major victory in President Enrique Pena Nieto's campaign against drug violence that has left around 80,000 people dead since 2006.

The capture was also a triumph for the US Drug Enforcement Administration and its 13-year effort to bring down the world's most wanted drug lord, who had fled from prison in 2001.

Interior Minister Miguel Angelo Osorio Chong said Mexican investigators want to extract information from Guzman before examining any bid to put him on trial in the United States.

"What we need is information," Osorio Chong told Radio Formula.

"If we are satisfied with what we get, and the United States also requires this person in that country" then Mexico would not see "any inconvenience," he said.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said he had spoken with his US counterpart, Eric Holder, on Tuesday.

"He told me about the possibility (of requesting an extradition) and I told him that it is an issue that we have to review," Murillo Karam said.

Mexico's top prosecutor said it was too soon to say whether Guzman would be extradited and that such a move would not happen quickly.

Guzman's lawyers have already requested an injunction to prevent any extradition to the United States.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com