AUTHORITIES yesterday seized 434 kilos of suspected shabu worth P2.95 billion at the Manila International Container Port in Manila, police and customs officials reported.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the drugs were seized by personnel of various agencies, including the PNP, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC).
In a press briefing at Camp Crame yesterday afternoon, Fajardo said the PNP Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEG) received information sometime last week about the arrival of a drug shipment from Mexico.
“They (PDEG officials) shared this intelligence report to the customs (bureau),” said Fajardo, adding the informant gave the control number of the ship, leading to the inspection.
Fajardo said initial information showed around 275 kilos of shabu had been found as of 2 p.m. yesterday.
“When we opened the cargo, we found illegal drugs inside. There are many boxes inside and the inventory is ongoing as of now,” said Fajardo.
BOC Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy said the inventory has yielded 434 kilos of shabu as of 6 p.m. yesterday.
“The inventory is not yet finished. So far, we (have) inventoried 434 kilos (of shabu) and counting,” said Uy, adding the inventory may not be completed last night.
“It came from Mexico. We already inventoried 50 percent of the shipment. Not all beef jerky boxes have (shabu),” said Uy.
Uy said they had been monitoring the shipment “long ago” but it was only last Tuesday when it was subjected to x-ray, which confirmed the shipment contained shabu.
“We subjected the cargo to x-ray last Tuesday and we opened it just this morning. It’s shabu, it’s confirmed by (the) equipment of PDEA and by ours in the customs,” said Uy.
“We’ve been monitoring this long ago since it’s an abandoned cargo. We’re waiting for people to claim it so we can identify the brains behind this (drug smuggling),” said Uy.
“We’re waiting for the claimant. We already know the consignee but it’s important for us to get the claimant of the cargo,” said Uy, who declined to identify the consignee pending further investigation.
The drug haul came a week after NBI operatives seized 560 kilos of suspected shabu worth P3.8 billion, during a controlled delivery operation at a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga.
The shipment arrived at the Subic port in Zambales onboard a vessel from Thailand.
