By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Another attempt at smuggling contraband into domestic shores was foiled as Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Clark officials seized 994 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, known as “shabu”, with an estimated value of P6.7 million.
The package, which originated from Bujumbura, East Africa and headed for Cavite City, Philippines underwent X-ray screening and was eventually subjected to a physical examination.
Closer inspection revealed a brown box containing metal wheel bearing with four (4) packages wrapped in brown packing tape, each filled with a white crystalline substance suspected to be “shabu.”
Samples from the intercepted parcel were handed over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which affirmed the substance as a prohibited drug under Republic Act No. 9165, as amended.
A Warrant of Seizure and Detention was issued for the shipment for violation of Sections 118(g), 119(d), and 1113 paragraphs (f), (i), and (l) (3 and 4) of R.A. No. 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), in relation to R.A. No. 9165, as amended.
The seizure of this highly valuable contraband is part of the Bureau of Customs’ adherence to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s intensified anti-drug and anti-smuggling campaign.
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