PDEA nips ‘shabu’ smuggling via dictionary

Shabu. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Is “shabu” found in the dictionary? Perhaps not the word, but the illegal substance also known as methamphetamine hydrochloride was exactly what anti-narcotics agents found in this particular dictionary that someone tried to ship out to Australia, the authorities said Friday.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency intercepted the dictionary after a courier service tipped the agency off to a parcel it suspected of containing illegal drugs, PDEA Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr. said.

He said the parcel reportedly originated from BF Homes in Parañaque City.

The package was intercepted at the cargo office of an international express courier service in Pasay City on Monday after the PDEA received a call from the courier service.

A sachet containing 10 grams of shabu worth P50,000 was hidden between the pages of ordinary-looking dictionary, which is probably what aroused suspicion.

Agents of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Interagency Drug Interdiction Task Group went to the cargo office to verify the courier service’s suspicion that a package contained illegal drugs.

“When the package was passed through an x-ray machine, the operator noticed the presence of (extraneous) material inside the pages of a book,” Cacdac said.

Tests conducted on the white crystalline substance found hidden in the dictionary showed it was shabu, Cacdac said, adding the PDEA was now trying to verify the identities of the consignee as well as the sender’s as indicated on the package.