Authorities seized more than 32 boxes of chemicals that were falsely declared as “used clothes” and left unattended at the Araneta bus terminal in Quezon City on Thursday.
The Quezon City Police District said it would seek assistance from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to check if the chemicals, some already spilled from broken bottles, included raw materials for illegal drugs.
Members of the Quezon City Police District’s Cubao station were alerted to the cargo after passengers complained of the noxious odor coming from one of the boxes. When opened, the package yielded broken bottles of various chemicals.
“They were declared to be used clothes worth P20,00 and were apparently packed in a hurry that’s why the bottles were broken,” said QCPD director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano.
The boxes were found stacked near the waiting area for Isarog Bus Transit around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Investigators learned that about 30 minutes earlier, a man was seen unloading the boxes from a Toyota Hilux.
Seized were a total of 408 bottles of hydrochloric acid, “AU formate,” ethanol, methanol, tartaric acid, diphenylmethane sulphate, formalin, powdered charcoal, and formic acid.
According to the cargo’s bill of loading, the boxes were to be delivered to a certain Gerry of Masbate province. The bill also identified the sender as Jhony Lee. Julie M. Aurelio