Customs men turn over to PDEA P24M illegal drugs seized at Naia
MANILA, Philippines–Since February, customs men assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) have intercepted P24 million worth of illegal drugs as part of their efforts to crack down on outbound cargo containing prohibited substances.
Officials, however, said that despite their stricter monitoring measures, no cases have been filed since the senders often use fictitious names and addresses.
“We tried tracing the senders. But in most cases, it is either no one with such a name lives in the given address or no such address exists,” Ed Macabeo, Naia district collector for the Bureau of Customs, said in a phone interview.
On Tuesday, customs officials at the NAIA turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) six sacks of different prohibited drugs representing their haul for the past five months.
The BOC and PDEA estimated the value of the illegal drugs at P24 million. The seized items included packets of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or “shabu,” and regulated addictive substances like Valium, Ativan, Dormicum, Rivotril and Ritalin tablets.
“Since December, we have made a conscious effort to intercept illegal drugs hidden in outbound cargoes. We had been receiving reports that some recipients who are clueless about the prohibited drugs hidden in shipment coming from the Philippines end up in jail,” Macabeo said.
He added that they were nipping in the bud the movement of illegal drugs by intercepting these before they are sent overseas.
On Tuesday, the BOC seized a letter bound for Israel containing 15 grams of shabu. The day before that, customs officials found a package with 10 grams of white crystal-like substance believed to be shabu hidden inside a drinking straw.
