Government agents busted another individual suspected to be involved in a drug syndicate, which uses the country's postal system in its operation, after claiming a shipment of ecstasy tablets at Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City.
Arrested was Kim Fuentes, a resident of Makati City, who claimed two smuggled parcels containing ecstasy pills worth P1.8 million.
Elements of the Bureau of Customs-Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group apprehended the suspect and placed her under PDEA custody.
The parcels came from Leusden, Netherlands and were misdeclared as “bag of candy.”
The authorities subjected the packages under 100 percent physical examination and discovered the 1,073 ecstasy tablets concealed in caramel-colored candy bags.
Laboratory test conducted by the PDEA yielded positive results for ecstasy, a dangerous party drug that killed five people during a rave party four years ago in Pasay City.
The prohibited drugs were turned over to PDEA for proper disposition and for the appropriate filing of criminal charges against the suspect.
Customs personnel have been apprehending illegal drug shipments in compliance to the Bureau of Customs commissioner’s directive to secure the borders and the anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte.
In August 2018, Customs agents also intercepted parcels containing 14,720 tablets of ecstasy worth P25 million and arrested one Joan Reynoso, 42, a resident of Cavite, who claimed ownership of the parcel also at the CMEC.
Shabu, marijuana, and ecstasy are the top three narcotics distributed in the streets and these prohibited substances are manufactured by Chinese, Taiwanese and Mexican drug syndicates, according to PDEA.
The authorities vowed the government’s crackdown on drug dealing in the country would continue with the goal of catching protectors and financiers of the illegal drug trade.