Government agents have seized a smuggled shipment of shabu worth at least P58.3 million from Nigeria.
The raid was conducted by a composite team from the Bureau of Customs-Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the NAIA-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group.
The team discovered the prohibited substance weighing about 8.575 kilos hidden in packages of assorted dried spices.
The shipment arrived two weeks ago at the NAIA People’s Air Cargo (Paircargo) Warehouse in Paranaque City and was transferred to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) branch in San Andres, Manila.
Customs officials initially found out at the warehouse that the shipment, which was declared as food stuff, was illegally imported without the required the import permits from the BPI.
The Port of NAIA then coordinated with BPI to further check for other possible violations of the subject importation prior to its possible condemnation or disposal. It also sought the assistance of PDEA and NAIA Task Group to verify possible inclusions of illegal drugs that turns out to be positive.
The seized drugs are now in the custody of PDEA for further investigation, profiling and case build-up against the personalities involved, and possible prosecution for violating the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in relation to Section 1401 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016.
Just recently, the same team of agents seized in a controlled delivery operation in Bulacan a P7.4 million worth shabu shipment, which was also smuggled from Nigeria.
This operation also resulted in the arrest of a claimant.
The importer declared the shipment as water purifier, but upon examination, the parcel was found out to contain 1,092 grams of white crystalline substance.
