BY Osias Osorio
ILLEGAL drugs worth P72.8 million intentionally left by a Belgian passenger at the customs baggage carousel upon arrival last September 28 were discovered by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 last Monday.
Customs assistant deputy collector for passenger services Mark Almase said the BOC coordinated with Immigration officials to identify the Belgian, a passenger of Qatar Airways from Johannesburg, South Africa via Qatar who left black luggage at the baggage carousel.
When examined, the luggage was found to contain illegal drugs.
On verification, it was learned the abandoned black bag belonged to Michel Septon, a Belgian.
Almase said the luggage was brought to the Customs Interline Baggage Room (IBR), a storage facility at the customs arrival area for unaccompanied luggage, for safekeeping.
Almase said Customs officials gave Septon enough time to claim her luggage but she did not show up.
Upon examination last Monday, the luggage was found to contain 10,706 grams of shabu wrapped in yellow and black plastic with a street value of P72.8 million.
The illegal drugs were turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for proper disposal.
Police seized P387,600 worth of suspected dangerous drugs and arrested a jobless man in a buy-bust operation in Pasig City last Monday night.
Col. Hendrix Mangaldan, local police chief, identified the suspect as alias Bigboy, 60, a resident of Barangay Santolan, Pasig City.
Seized from him were eight sachets containing more or less 57 grams of suspected shabu.
Bigboy faces charges of violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. – With Christian Oineza
