P8.5M ecstasy tablets from France seized in Laguna

LUCENA CITY — Authorities seized P8.5 million worth of ecstasy tablets from a female suspect in a “controlled delivery operation” on Wednesday, Dec. 21, in Santa Rosa City in Laguna province.

In a report, the Region 4A police said operatives from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group, Calabarzon Drug Enforcement Unit, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine Postal Corp., and local police collared at 3:30 p.m. Joy Buatista, alias “Aira Almonte,” at a gasoline station in Barangay Dita.

The operatives seized a cargo box declared as a “children playing item” and had six stuffed toys and four improvised pouches.

When the box was opened, the pouches reportedly contained 5,032 pink tablets suspected to be ecstasy.

The confiscated illegal drugs have a street value of P8,554,400, the report stated.

Ecstasy is the go-to illegal drug among young people during rave parties, recreational activities, and nightclubbing.

A controlled delivery is a technique used when a consignment of illegal drugs is detected and allowed to go forward under the control and surveillance of law enforcement officers to secure evidence against illegal drug traffickers.

The police said the cargo was shipped by one Buatista Victoria from Lille, France, and consigned to the arrested suspect.

Authorities were conducting further investigations.

The suspect was detained and will be charged of violating Section 4 (Importation of Dangerous Drugs) of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. INQ

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