Authorities seized over P200 million worth of shabu at the Pair-Pags Center inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport complex on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Photo courtesy of PDEA)
MANILA, Philippines — A 28-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday after authorities seized a shipment containing over P200 million worth of crystal meth or “shabu” addressed to her, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
In a report on Thursday, PDEA said it identified the consignee as Christine Tigranes, a Quezon City resident.
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Tigranes’ location was traced after a joint operation of the Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) led to the discovery of about 32,130 grams or P218,484,000 worth of narcotics concealed in four machinery mufflers at the Pair-Pags Center inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport complex in Parañaque City.
“The shipment was declared as a ‘machinery muffler’ from Zimbabwe (Africa) and underwent rigorous profiling by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, x-ray screening, K9 dog sniffing, and physical examination,” the BOC said in a separate report.
Aside from the shabu, authorities also confiscated various documents, including a national ID, an air waybill document, and a cellular phone from the suspect.
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The seized narcotics were turned over to PDEA while the suspect is in police custody and will face charges for violating Section 4, Article 2 of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and the RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization Tariff Act.