MANILA, Philippines - Police on Thursday night arrested 5 Chinese nationals and seized at least 20 kilograms of shabu after raiding a kitchen-type shabu laboratory in Sta. Ana district, Manila.

Three Chinese suspects, including a woman, were initially arrested after operatives from the regional anti-illegal drugs special operations task force raided a townhouse along New Panaderos Street in Sta. Ana around 7 p.m..

Operatives arrested 2 more Chinese men, who arrived at the townhouse, while the raid was ongoing.

Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, said that one of those arrested owns the house and has been residing in Sta. Ana for the past 9 years.

The suspects were presented to the media immediately after the operatives finished listing the items seized from the townhouse.

Among those seized were several plastic bags of finished shabu product weighing at least 20 kilograms, with a street value of P100 million, a bag of ecstasy capsules and drug-making equipment.

Rosales said that the suspects could be members of a big drug syndicate operating in Manila.

He said the raid was a follow-up of the successful discovery of a shabu laboratory in Taguig City last March 25. – Report from Francis Faulve, ABS-CBN News