A BUSINESSMAN accused of having laced a shipment of hygienic products with marijuana at the Bureau of Customs-Port of Clark in September last yearhas been cleared twice by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Frederick Juan and his partner, Leonardo Gabalfin, were questioned due to suspicion that they had illegal substance in the shipment of liquid soap and toothpaste that arrived in the country on September 20, 2020.
In a post-operation report, Clark International Airport-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group chief Joseph L. Samson told PDEA Region 3 Director Christian O. Frivaldo that chemical analysis of the seized hygienic products showed that “neither dangerous drugs (DD) nor control precursors and essential chemicals (CPECs)” were found in them.
On September 29, 2020, PDEA Provincial Officer Vidal DC Bacolod also issued a certificationreiterating that the shipment of hygienic products yielded negative results for DD and CPECs.
Bacolod also reported that PDEA had cleared Juan, and that “no criminal charge was filed against him.”
Juan and Gabalfin have vehemently denied any illegal activityand said the importation of the liquid hand soap and toothpaste was a result of a legitimate transaction and business of their company. They added the first sample had already been tested, and this turned out to be negative.
