AUTHORITIES arrested last Monday a Liberian mechanical engineer who tried to smuggle 8.13 kilos of suspected shabu worth P55.33 million at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) named the suspect as Philip Campbell, 34, who is facing charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Act of 2002.
Campbell was nabbed by operatives of the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG) at around 7:30 p.m. in an interdiction operation at the Customs International Arrival Area, NAIA Terminal 3.
Campbell arrived in the country aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR 934 from Doha, Qatar.
Seized from him were two checked-in baggage containing 15 improvised pouches of dried shrimp and condiments where the shabu was stored, a Liberian passport, two boarding passes, a customs baggage declaration form, and a cellphone.
PDEG also recovered 500 grams of suspected shabu worth P3.4 million that was surrendered by one Judith Gera Bacas last Monday in San Andres Bukid Manila.
“(The) said parcel was turned over and surrendered by Judith Gera Bacas, 41,” a PDEG statement said.
The parcel was “sealed with tape and hidden inside a humidifier named after a sender Fujita Ken, bound to Korea and only delivered by a Grab rider.”
PDEG said it is conducting further investigation on the case.
Police seized P339,400 worth of suspected dangerous drugs and arrested three persons in buy-bust operations in Pasig City and Cainta, Rizal.
Brig. Gen. Wilson Asueta, Eastern Police District director, identified the three as Henny Convera, 27, an online seller; Celyn Delos Reyes Salidi, 26, a BPO Customer Service Operator, residents of Barangay San Andres, Cainta, Rizal; and Roderick Jaravelo, 19, jobless, a resident of Barangay San Miguel, Pasig City.
Seized from them were two sachets containing more or less 25 grams of suspected shabu and a bag containing about 53 grams of high-grade marijuana leaves. — With Christian Oineza
