AUSSIE LINKED TO MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL ARRESTED IN CEBU

OPERATIVES of the Bureau of Immigration (BI)  arrested an Australian national suspected of being a member of the notorious Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel.

Nabbed was Gregor Johann Haas, 46, according to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

Tansingco said the Australian national was captured by operatives of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU)last May 15 in Bogo, Cebu.

According to Tansingco, Haas is  the subject of a Red Notice by the Interpol, which stemmed from a criminal case filed against him in Indonesia.

An arrest warrant against the suspect was issued last January 29 by the National Narcotics Board of Indonesia for drug smuggling.

Indonesian authorities accused Haas, who has alleged links to the Sinaloa drug cartel, of being behind the attempt to smuggle into Indonesia on Dec. 11, 2023 a shipment of floor ceramics filled with more than five kilograms of the illegal drug substance methamphetamine.

The illegal drugs were seized by Indonesian authorities, who later discovered via testimonies from arrested drug couriers that the packages were sent by Haas from Guadalajara, Mexico.

Tansingco described Haas’ arrest as a major accomplishment of the BI in its continuing drive to flush out wanted foreign criminals in the country.

He described the Australian as a “high-profile fugitive” for being an alleged member of the Sinaloa cartel, a large international organized crime syndicate based in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico that specializes in drug trafficking and money laundering activities.

The arrested Australian is now detained at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending his deportation.