Government agents intercepted shipments of shabu and ecstasy worth P37.3 million at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The shipments, owned by fictitious senders and consignees, include some 5, 239 grams of shabu concealed in a baby carrier, camera, finance magazines and bar stool; and at least 1,000 tablets of ecstasy from Germany declared as a wooden toy.
Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña and Naia Port district collector Carmelita Talusan turned over the contraband to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Talusan said the apprehension was made due to consistent “reform initiatives and the five-point agenda initiated by Commissioner Lapena.”
“We conducted trainings to customs examiners and police on how to conduct proper profiling of in-coming and out-going passengers bringing illegal drugs and highly taxable items because we are not allowed to open luggage so we rely on the expertise of our personnel with the help of X-ray machines and personnel,” she said.
Talusan added that one of the shabu apprehensions was intended for export to New Zealand, the other three came from the United States, while the Ecstacy came from Germany.
She explained that because of the joint efforts of x-ray scanners and port front liners, “we were able to apprehend drugs.”
Two months ago, Talusan’s men also foiled an attempt to smuggle P133 million worth of prohibited drugs through mail parcels.
Seized last June were 17.96 kilograms of shabu and 1.03 kilograms of marijuana leaves at the Federal Express Warehouse near the airport terminal.