Customs agents assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport intercepted another shipment of ecstasy and kush marijuana worth a combined P3 million at bonded warehouses in Pasay City.
The operations were conducted with the help of operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group.
Seized were air parcels of 1,681 tablets ecstasy with an estimated street value of P2,857,700, found concealed inside a microwave oven, and 133 grams of kush marijuana worth P159,600 discovered inside a metal toy box.
“The seized drugs Ecstacy and Marijuana have an aggregate value of P3,017,300,” Bureau of Customs-NAIA chief Carmelita Talusan said.
Import documents showed that the party drug ecstasy was shipped from Netherlands and consigned to a Quezon City resident while the intercepted marijuana was shipped from the United States and consigned to a certain individual from Pasay City.
Both parcels were turned over to PDEA on Tuesday for case build up and profiling for possible violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Marijuana, ecstasy and shabu are among the top narcotics distributed in the streets and these prohibited substances are manufactured by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Mexican drug syndicates, according to PDEA.
Airport authorities have heightened vigilance in the campaign against illegal drug trafficking in a bid to discourage international drug syndicates from using the Philippines as a transshipment point for illegal substances.In 2020, Port of NAIA, under the supervision of District Collector Carmelita Talusan, seized a total of 44 shipments of shabu, ecstasy, marijuana, and other prohibited substances worth P2 billion.
They added the campaign is in full support of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero’s border control initiatives.
Both parcels were turned over to PDEA and would file cases against the consignees for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and Unlawful Importation of Republic Act 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Talusan said that the bureau will continue to be vigilant against different kinds of modes of concealment of illegal drugs through enhanced and improved profiling techniques coupled with the active collaboration and partnership of PDEA and other law enforcement agencies.