Police seize illegal drugs worth P4.2 billion (7:15 p.m.)
MANILA — A government anti-smuggling task force seized nearly 1,600 pounds (710 kilograms) of illegal drugs worth 4.2 billion pesos (US$97.7 million; euro 62 million) inside an economic and tourism zone, an official said Wednesday.
Antonio Villar, chief of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Task Force, said 198 lbs. (90 kilograms.) of crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride packed in plastic bags were first discovered Tuesday inside five boxes a Chinese trader allegedly tried to bring out of the Subic Bay Freeport, west of Manila.
On Wednesday, authorities recovered two watertight bags floating near a pier containing 44 lbs. (20 kilograms) of the illegal drug, known locally as shabu, plus 60 boxes containing 1,323 lbs. (600 kilograms) more inside a warehouse owned by the trader.
Villar said the drug bust was triggered late Sunday when task force agents observed a vehicle suspiciously roaming in the vicinity of a Taiwanese vessel, FB Shun Fa Xing, which had arrived from Vietnam. Workers were later seen loading the vehicle with several boxes from the ship, he said. (AP)
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