Ninja Cops' And 'Drug Queen' Roil Duterte's Anti-Drugs War

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Director General Aaron Aquino has called for the alleged “drug queen” of Manila to return to the Philippines and prove her innocence. The woman, former barangay chairwoman Guia Gomez Castro, is charged with being involved with “ninja cops” in a scheme to use confiscated drugs for re-sell or to plant the drugs on unsuspecting and possibly innocent people.

Unfortunately for law enforcement, Castro managed to evade any Bureau of Immigration (BI) scrutiny and left the Philippines on Sept. 21. BI records show that she took a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, where she supposedly still is.

To save face, the BI issued an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) five days after Castro had left the country. According to BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval, Castro was able to leave the country since she had "no derogatory records" and that no court-issued Hold Departure Order (HDO) had been granted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop her from leaving.

This has certainly been a “thorn in the seat” to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was elected in 2016 proclaiming a war on drugs to eradicate the illegal drug trade in his country. His tactics that some say are abuses of human rights have led to many deaths due to overzealous police and law enforcement personnel.

Duterte on Wednesday warned any police officers involved in the recycling of seized illegal drugs, or otherwise known as “ninja cops,” that they would “die first” if they continue with their illegal activities. During the corporate launching of a real estate developer, he said, “But there are some people, like policemen, you have to beg then they arrest. At it again, and they sell drugs and they go scot-free, and they think that they are the lords of this country. Well, I’m sorry to tell you, everybody dies in this world, but you will go ahead first. Remember that.”

Aquino made his comments on a DZMM radio interview, saying, “I invite her to come back. Prove to us that you are not the drug queen. Because she is saying that she is not a real drug queen, that she was just accused of being the drug queen.” When asked if Castro’s major suppliers are the so-called “ninja cops,” Aquino said the “drug queen” could be in connivance with someone from National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

Earlier, Senators Bong Go and Richard Gordon said the President would reveal the names of 22 “ninja cops” who were identified during a Senate executive session by Baguio City Mayor and former chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) Benjamin Magalong.