P7.5-M ‘shabu’ bound for New Zealand seized

Suspect arrested and seized shabu (crystal meth)

Suspect arrested and seized shabu (crystal meth) | INQUIRER.net stock photo

MANILA, Philippines — Customs officials at the Port of Clark have stopped the departure of a shipment allegedly containing over P7.5 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu.”

Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the shipment declared as a “shaft drive model” from Parañaque City was bound for New Zealand on Jan. 3 when it was tagged as suspicious by X-ray Inspection Project personnel.

The package was sniffed by police dogs and examined, leading to the discovery of three packs of white crystalline substances.

Weighing 1,104 grams, the items were concealed inside a shaft drive, BOC added.

A chemical laboratory analysis conducted later by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed that the crystalline substances were shabu, prompting BOC District Collector Erastus Sandino Austria to order the shipment’s seizure.

—TINA G. SANTOS
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