Shabu worth P100k found in parcel sent from UK by post

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Customs has intercepted a parcel containing over P100,000 worth of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) sent to the Makati City post office from an unidentified sender in the United Kingdom.

Up to 15 grams of the illegal drug wrapped in tissue paper and plastic was found inside a brown envelope following a tip from an informant, according to the bureau’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Postal Unit.

The sender declared the parcel as containing a pendant, said the unit’s chief, Alvin Enciso, on Wednesday.

A check by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency showed the substance was a “low-grade type of shabu” with a street value of around P7,000 per gram.

“Since there was only a small quantity, the PDEA believes that the shabu was intended only for personal use,” Enciso told reporters, adding that that the receiver could have been accepting packages from the same sender for the last five months.

In responding to the tip, the official said his unit initially planned a controlled delivery in the hope that the addressee would personally pick up the package. But a mailman of the Philippine Postal Corp. came to pick it up instead.

The mailman, whom the official did not identify, told investigators that he was just instructed to pick up the package by someone residing in his area of delivery.

Enciso said investigation on the mailman and the supposed receiver of the illegal package was still ongoing in coordination with the PhilPost Inspection Service.