‘Shabu’ worth P120M seized from South African tourist in Cebu

The Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). (DALE ISRAEL/INQUIRER VISAYAS)

CEBU CITY—Authorities arrested a citizen of South Africa after they found 17.6 kilos of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth), worth about P120 million, in his briefcase and suitcases at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on Wednesday night.

Leia Alcantara, information officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA), said officers of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) stationed at the airport were the first to notice the suspicious looking items carried by Pietro Aliquo as his briefcase and suitcases passed through an X-ray machine. Aliquo, 58, arrived in Cebu from Doha, Qatar, around 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

BOC officers sought the help of the PDEA Airport Interdiction Unit as well as the K9 unit to verify the items. “Bulik,” a narcotic detection dog, alerted his handler of the possible presence of illegal drugs.

“A thorough check of the three items led to the discovery of a total of 10 packs of suspected shabu weighing around 17,699 grams worth P120,353,200 in hidden compartments,” Alcantara said in a statement.

Initial tests on the substances conducted by a PDEA chemist yielded a positive result for dangerous drugs.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan said Aliquo told him that an acquaintance asked him to bring a package as a “gift” for someone who would pick it up upon his arrival in Cebu. Aliquo, who went to Cebu for a holiday, claimed that he was made to believe that he was carrying a package of clothes.

The suspect would face a complaint for importation of dangerous drugs, a nonbailable offense under Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Chan said it was not the first time that a foreigner tried to bring in drugs to Cebu.

In 2011, he said a Kenyan was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation at MCIA for carrying 3 kilos of shabu in her suitcase.

—REPORTS FROM DALE G. ISRAEL AND NESTLE L. SEMILLA

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