By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In a successful interdiction operation at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Tuesday (Dec. 17), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (IADITG) seized more than nine (9) kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as shabu, with an estimated street value of P63 million.
The operation resulted in the apprehension of a Zambian national in possession of a black suitcase containing assorted clothes and two vacuum-sealed translucent plastic bags of shabu. The confiscated methamphetamine weighed approximately 9,276 grams, with a total estimated street value of P63,076,800.
The arriving passenger and the seized illegal drugs were turned over to PDEA, and further investigation is underway for violations of Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) and Republic Act No. 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act).
The BOC-Customs Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEG), the Airport Police Department, the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were also involved in the operation.
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