Bureau of Customs (BOC) operatives seized on Monday some P400 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu at a warehouse in Pasay City.
BOC reported that the said contraband was brought to Pair Cargo Warehouse on Sunday and was initially declared to contain spare parts.
Customs operatives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) inspected the shipment on Monday, after finding it “suspicious.”
“The shipment from Guinea, Africa, was declared to contain spare parts, [but] upon seeing [a] suspicious image, Naia Customs X-ray operatives conducted a physical examination and found illegal drugs,” the BOC said in a statement.
The shipment was found to contain 58.93 kilograms of shabu with an estimated street value of P400.7 million as confirmed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Verne Enciso relayed the information to Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy, together with Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, who personally inspected the illegal shipment.
“The declared items in these shipments, totaling to about five boxes, were spare parts, such as pulley or pulley engines. But upon further inspection by our Customs personnel, they found reason to believe that these packages contain illegal drugs. That’s when they called it in to receive proper assistance from the CIIS and other BOC officers,” Uy said.
“What these organizations and individuals fail to understand is that we work day and night in any part of the country to identify, confirm, and inspect any shipment we suspect to have illegal goods. Our mandate is border protection, whether that meant policing sea ports or airport terminals,” he added.
For his part, Customs chief Rubio said, “We are steadfast in our commitment to protect the country against any and all forms of smuggling. This goal is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., so the public can be rest assured that we are heightening our vigilance against smuggling operations in a concerted effort to meet our revenue targets and ensure fair and secure trade,” he stressed.
Image credits: facebook.com/BureauOfCustomsPH
