THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Friday released from its custody a 27-year-old Filipino-Chinese businessman arrested in a “controlled delivery” operation in Quezon City which resulted in the seizure of eight kilograms of shabu worth P40 million.

Marvin Sia was freed after a Quezon City court granted the petition for the ‘writ of habeas corpus’ filed by his lawyers. The granting of the ‘writ of habeas corpus’ came even though Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan ordered a review of the resolution by the prosecutor’s office to release Sia.

His release also came even as a package of controlled precursor and essential chemical which was part of the shipment consigned to Sia was turned over by the Bureau of Customs to the PDEA, said Undersecretary Jose S. Gutierrez Jr.

Gutierrez said the package containing piperonal, the main ingredient for making the designed drug ‘Ecstasy’ was part of the shipment consigned to Sia who was arrested last January 30.

“This was the last one of the batch.  It arrived after the first eight packages were already marked and turned over to PDEA for safekeeping,” Gutierrez said while explaining that the packages arrived in tranches. 

The mail and parcel service said that the eight packages, declared as sodium tungstate, started arriving from January 13 to January 22  while the last one arrived on January 27 or after the first eight packages were already turned-over to PDEA for temporary custody of the confiscated evidence prior to the conduct of controlled delivery operation.

Gutierrez said their investigation showed that Sia had previously applied to PDEA for a permit to import piperonal which is legitimately used in perfumery in 2009. 

His application was denied because he failed to meet security requirements. Again in January, he applied for permit to import acetone which was again denied.

Citing alleged technicalities, the Q.C. prosecutor’s office has ordered the release for further investigation of Sia earning massive protest from the PDEA..

In a February 1 resolution signed by Q.C. Assistant City Prosecutors Diovie Macaraig-Calderon and approved by Assistant City Prosecutor Rogelio Velasco and City Prosecutor Donald Lee, the case filed against Sia was recommended for further investigation due to insufficient evidence to hold the accused for trial and question on the chain of custody of the seized packages.

The Q.C. prosecutor’s resolution said that ‘careful examination of the complaint as well as the allegations of the witnesses in the complainant and attached documentary evidence’ showed that the pieces of evidence are insufficient to hold the respondent for trial as the complaint failed to show that the consignee was the one who imported the packages addressed to him or had knowledge of the delivery of the seized packages or ‘that he was indeed trafficking or anticipating the delivery.’

The resolution also said that Section 3 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 states that ‘controlled delivery’ should be done under the supervision of an authorized officer but ‘it appears that the operation was merely under the supervision of the PDEA operations and their acts border on instigation.’

PDEA officials protested the Q.C. prosecutor’s resolution which was made in the wake of the complaint for violation of RA 9165 filed against Sia by PDEA Agents Amir Estanislao and Arnel Orozco.

Officials said they have strictly complied with the law when they filed the case against Sia and were aghast to discover that their actions have been questioned by Q.C. prosecutors.