Canadian gets life over P9.68 billion shabu haul

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June 11, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  A Canadian national has been sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of illegal drug charges in connection with the seizure of P9.68 billion worth of shabu in Alitagtag, Batangas in 2024.

In a 19-page ruling dated May 29, Judge Andy de Vera of the Tagaytay City Regional Trial Court Branch 135 found Thomas Gordon O’Quinn guilty of two counts of illegal drug possession as provided under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Aside from imprisonment, De Vera ordered O’Quinn to pay a fine of P10.5 million.

The court said the chain of custody over the seized illegal substance remained intact and the integrity and evidentiary value of the corpus delicti or “body of crime” have been properly preserved.

De Vera noted that Ajalon Michael Zarate, driver of the van that transported the illegal substance, positively identified his cohorts including a certain James Toby Martin, a false identity used by O’Quinn.

Authorities discovered that O’Quinn was on the red notice of the International Police or Interpol for drug-related offenses in the United States.

Police said they confirmed the Interpol red notice against O’Quinn through the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime.

The contraband was intercepted at a police checkpoint in Barangay Pinagkurusan on April 15, 2024.

O’Quinn was arrested in Tagaytay on May 16 of the same year.

Police said they seized from the Canadian shabu and cocaine  as well as 14 identification cards bearing his photos with different names.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. lauded the decision of the Tagaytay court, saying it underscored the PNP’s rules-based enforcement of operations.

“This shows that our anti-illegal drug campaign is not only measured by arrests and seizures, but also by successful convictions,” Nartatez said in a statement,

He commended police units involved in the operation, noting that no one was killed and the people behind the illegal shipment were arrested.

Meanwhile, shabu and cocaine with a combined value of P38.5 million were seized from three drug suspects in San Fernando, Pampanga on Tuesday morning.

The anti-narcotics operation in Barangay Del Pilar targeted high-value drug dealers identified only as Ambeth, Bert and Nini.

Police said they seized from the suspects four kilos of shabu with an estimated street value of P27.2 million and 2.13 kilos of cocaine worth P11.3 million as well as P900,000 marked money.

The suspects were brought to the Central Luzon police headquarters in San Fernando City for proper disposition. –  Ramon Efren Lazaro