Customs siezes P11.87M worth of shabu at NAIA

Customs chief Isidro Lapena

Bureau of Customs (BoC) officers seized P11.87 million worth of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) that were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Customs commissioner Isidro Lapena and customs-NAIA district collector Mimel Talusan on Tuesday (May 22) presented to media the two shipments that had a total of 2.3755 kilos of shabu.

One was hidden inside a pillow and contained 344.5 grams. It arrived on April 23, 2018 and was consigned to Susano Trinidad of Cubao, Quezon City.

The other shipment was hidden inside a medicine cabinet. It had around 2,031 grams of shabu and consigned to a certain Juey Cuenca of Imus, Cavite. Both shipments came from California.

Lapena said consignees and delivery addresses for the two shipments turned out to be fictitious.

He said both shipments of shabu were heavily wrapped with plastic and aluminium but were intercepted during X-ray examination.

He added that the shipments were tested using a chemical identifier and reagent which indicated the presence of illegal drugs.

“In support of the anti-drug campaign of President Duterte, we have intensified our drug operations in every port in the country. And so, we were able to apprehend eight drug shipments in March and April alone,” Lapena said.

The NAIA customs has been continuously interdicting imports and exports as furniture and other general merchandise but the contents were actually illegal drugs, Customs-NAIA district collector Mimel Talusan said.

In March 2018, BoC-NAIA confiscated 42 tablets of Cyproterone Acetate and Ethinylestradiol found in a parcel bound for Canada and 33.06 grams of shabu and a pouch of kush weeds concealed in a toy doll sent from the US.

In April 2018, BoC-NAIA also seized 62 tablets of Ecstasy that were sent from the Netherlands and 7517.6 grams of shabu placed in Lego toys and a baby crib.

“We are still training the customs examiners and enforcers in NAIA to perfect the profiling techniques meant to safeguard parcels in post offices and shipments in warehouses from prohibited goods,” Talusan said.

Meanwhile, four customs officials were given certificates of commendation by Lapena on Monday (May 21) right for their successes in intercepting drug shipments.

The four NAIA customs officers who received certificates of commendation included Charlon Tejada, Jackie Rivera, Felipe Reglucio and Krystel Derequito.