Government agents assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have seized P5.1 million worth of shabu suspected to have been smuggled from Mexico.
A composite team from the Bureau of Customs – NAIA, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group intercepted the contraband at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) in Pasay City on Thursday.
The authorities also arrested two suspects, residents of San Juan City and Cainta, Rizal, after they tried to claim the shipment at CMEC.
Based on import documents, the shipment was misdeclared as “Bateria, Musical, Dulces” or Set of Toy Drums shipped from Mexico. It arrived in Manila last May 30.
Customs examiners placed the shipment under full examination after x-ray scans yielded suspicious images. They later found 750 grams of shabu concealed in the toy drum set.
The suspects were put under custody of the PDEA and would be criminally charged with violation of Republic Act 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
Last month, Customs NAIA agents also seized a smuggled shabu shipment worth P7.4 million and arrested its claimant, in a controlled delivery operation in Bulacan.
The shipment arrived at CMEC on May 11.
The importer declared the shipment as water purifier from Laos, but upon physical examination, the parcel was discovered to contain 1,092 grams of shabu with a street value of P7,425,600.
The Customs bureau formed a team of operatives who conducted the controlled delivery operation leading to the arrest of the consignee in Malolos. Joel E. Zurbano