Government agents arrested in Tarlac the man who abandoned a backpack and a trolley bag containing more than P38 million worth of shabu at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday.
Nazarene Obillo, the passenger who left his luggage around 7 a.m. at the arrival carousel of NAIA Terminal 1, was arrested in a hot pursuit operation by operatives of the Bureau of Customs and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
At press time, Customs-NAIA officials were inviting members of the media to attend a press conference as Obillo would be transported from Tarlac to Terminal 1 anytime Saturday night.
Initial investigation showed the prohibited substance was discovered during the regular course of Customs inspection at the airport.
Customs airport district collector Carmelita Talusan said Obillo, who arrived on board Philippine Airlines flight PR596 from Hanoi, Vietnam, might have sensed that he was being “watched” and decided to leave his luggage at the airport.
Customs inspectors conducted a physical examination on the luggage in the presence of airline personnel and other government agencies, including the PDEA.
During inspection, the authorities found a wrapped plastic containing 5.16 kilos of shabu inside a brown trolley luggage bag and another 1.02 kilos inside a transparent plastic placed at the backpack bag.
Obillo will be charged with violation of Republic Act 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act) and RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act).
The latest apprehension was the 51st seizure made by the Customs-NAIA which has been active in intercepting illegal drugs both in passenger terminals and air parcels.
It also brings to P600 million the total amount of drugs seized at the airport since March last year.
The Customs-NAIA made a record-breaking of 50 drug seizures from March 2018 to September 2019.
Most of the seized drugs were shabu, ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana coming from China, United States and European countries.
Talusan said the men and women of BOC-NAIA were focused not only in doing their best to meet their revenue target but also in protecting the country’s borders.
Just recently, Talusan’s men intercepted at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City a package of liquid marijuana smuggled from Romania.
The authorities also arrested the claimant and consignee of the package identified as Jeffrey Ciabal Perez, 33, a seaman and resident of 0690 Purok 6 San Lucas 2, San Pablo City, Laguna.
The package, which arrived on Sept. 19, contained six boxes of bottled liquid marijuana shipped by Bayer-Vasilica of St. Gheorghe GR Miko Imre, Romania.
The package, based on its import manifest, was misdeclared as “ULEI CBD full plant extract.”
“Attempts to bring in and out prohibited goods are forewarned since Customs-NAIA is aggressively monitoring all parcels and baggage in the port,” said Talusan.