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SCMP Reporter

FURTHER evidence of triad links with international drug trafficking emerged yesterday when a suspected member of the 14K was shot dead in a Manila raid.

  Philippine police, acting on a tip-off from Hong Kong investigators, seized 30 kilograms of the designer drug ''ice'', one of the largest recent seizures.

  Police said one man tried to shoot his way out of the trap with a .45 calibre handgun, but was shot dead. He was named as Jose Co, a Chinese national, but it was unclear whether that was his real identity. His accomplice, also ethnic Chinese, escaped.

  Chief Superintendent Panfilo Lacson of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission said it was believed the man named Co was a member of the 14K.

  Mr Lacson said police had been tracking the shipment of ice since it arrived in Manila from Hong Kong last week.

  He suspected the drugs had been flown in from Kai Tak and cleared by corrupt Customs agents and airport workers in Manila.

  The drugs, believed to have originated in Xiamen, southern China, had a Philippine street value of 45 million pesos (HK$13.4 million), police said.

  Hong Kong police refused to hint at the source of their information, but they said the 14K had a long history of acting as the middlemen in ice deliveries.

  ''Ice is made in China and sent to the Philippines, Korea and Japan. The process is managed by Hong Kong gangs who arrange the shipments and supply the couriers.

  ''Traditionally the 14K have always been involved with ice. It would be wrong to say they monopolise it, but maybe they have better connections abroad or historical ties with the producing areas in China.''   Yesterday's seizure is the third case this year where 14K members have been caught dealing in ice.

  In February police raided a Sha Tin flat and seized 22 kg of the drug from the first ice factory found in the territory in 17 years. Four suspected 14K members were arrested.

  In April a smaller dealing operation was broken up in Kowloon, with two kilograms seized. But ice is not a popular drug with Hong Kong addicts who traditionally prefer heroin.

  Ice, chemical name methamphetamine hydrochloride, can be manufactured synthetically without natural ingredients. It acts as a stimulant, giving a high that lasts up to 24 hours, but is highly addictive and potentially lethal, causing kidney and liver damage to regular users.



14K suspect shot dead in Philippines designer drug raid