New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal

The New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal is an ongoing criminal investigation and political scandal concerning allegations of government involvement in illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines. The allegations were made by President Rodrigo Duterte after announcing that the two top convicted drug lords in the country continued to run their drug rings from inside the national penitentiary with former administration officials and their local government cohorts as co-conspirators. On August 25, 2016, Duterte released a drug matrix showing the structure of drug trafficking operations at the New Bilibid Prison and identified the two former top officials of the Department of Justice, the former provincial governor and board member of Pangasinan, and the Philippine National Police Region 1 general as being involved in the Bilibid narcotics trade.

Reports of illegal drug trafficking and use among inmates of the New Bilibid Prison have surfaced increasingly since 2014 when officials under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III launched a series of raids under Oplan Galugad ("Operation Surprise Inspection") at the national penitentiary. In a much publicized December 2014 raid, the police discovered methamphetamine (Filipino: shabu) and other drug paraphernalia, inflatable sex dolls, a stripper bar and jacuzzi spread across 19 air-conditioned villas (Filipino: kubol) built for convicted drug dealers. In subsequent raids, police also found other items and contrabands prohibited in the prison such as firearms and bladed weapons, mobile phones, flat screen TVs, laptops, WIFi, luxury Patek Philippe, Cartier and Rolex watches, sauna and over ₱2 million in cash from body searches of several high profile inmates. In the villa of convicted drug lord Peter Co linked by secret pathways to areas around the Bilibid, authorities also seized documents containing a list of names with corresponding cash amounts and dates. In another kubol occupied by convicted drug lord and robbery gang leader Herbert Colanggo, a 60-square-meter music studio was discovered where he reportedly was able to even produce a music video that went viral on YouTube.

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