At least 500 kilos of shabu worth more than P4 billion were seized by the Bureau of Customs at the Manila International Container Port, the biggest haul of illegal drugs this year.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said the shipment, which came from Malaysia, was consigned to Vedacio Cabral Araquel, a resident of 712 Galicia St., Sampaloc, Manila.
The shabu was hidden in several boxes inside a 24-footer container van that arrived in Manila on June 28.
The Customs chief said the shipment was declared as door frames.
The cargo, however, was abandoned by its consignee, prompting the bureau to inspect the container van.
He said the importer is not accredited with the bureau, raising suspicion the shipment may contain illegal goods.
The drugs were turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for safekeeping and will be destroyed after the filing of appropriate charges against individuals involved in the illegal shipment.
The haul was next in volume only to the 604 kilos of shabu from China worth P6.4 billion seized last year in two warehouses in Valenzuela City.
