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Thursday, March 18, 2004
P3.65B ingredient for shabu seized
By ELIAS O. BAQUERO
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
ABOUT 1,800 kilos of a shabu ingredient were seized at the Cebu International Port yesterday, fanning suspicions that shabu laboratories now operate locally.
The shipment, estimated at P3.6 billion, was seized by a joint team from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Lab tests by PDEA in Manila confirmed that the substance, contained in 60 drum-like cardboard bins, was pseudoephedrine, said PDEA 7 Chief Senior Supt. Gaudencio Pagaling Jr.
Pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in some over-the-counter drugs, is also used to make shabu, the poor man’s cocaine and the most commonly abused drug in the country.
As shabu precursors—the substance from which another is formed—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are traded under strict rules set by a United Nations convention and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Anyone found illegally diverting controlled precursors faces 12 to 20 years in jail and a fine ranging from P100,000 to P500,000 under Republic Act 9165.
Both ingredients are also commonly used in nasal decongestants and anti-asthma medication.
Warrant out
Customs District Collector Billy Bibit has issued a warrant of seizure and detention for the shipment, after the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service reported that the consignee, Mike Cummings, could not be located.
Authorities are considering the possibility that the name was made up.
As required by Republic Act 9165, the pseudoephedrine will be turned over to the PDEA, said lawyer James Edward Dy Buco, deputy district collector for administration at the Port of Cebu.
The law provides that this item must be turned over to PDEA within 24 hours from seizure.
Customs authorities placed the shipment in a hold-order list but they delayed the seizure, hoping that somebody would claim it by filing an import entry, said Dy Buco.
Any claimant will be investigated.
But until the warrant was issued last Monday, no import entry was filed.
No claimant
Section 1301 of the Tariff and Customs Code provides that an import entry must be filed within 30 days from the arrival of a shipment. That 30-day period will expire on April 5.
Franz Muñoz, a member of the BOC Task Force on Dangerous Drugs, said the pseudoephedrine arrived in Cebu from China (not Taiwan as reported by other media outlets) on board mv Intra Bhum last March 5.
Even if the pseudoephedrine is turned over to PDEA, the customs seizure proceedings will continue, to give any interested party the chance to claim the substances.
Cebu City Councilor Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem, chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs, said the shipment was stashed in 60 small drums containing 30 kilos each, for a total of 1,800 kilos.
At the present price of P2 million per kilo, the shipment is estimated to be worth P3.6 billion.
Jakosalem said the shipment supports suspicions that there are shabu laboratories in Cebu, or that the Port of Cebu is being used as a transshipment point by shabu manufacturers.
Jakosalem added that one gram of pseudoephedrine plus other ingredients can already make one gram of shabu.
4 months’ work
Lawyer Clarence Paul Oaminal, PDEA legal counsel, said PDEA’s information has it that shabu is sold at P2.5 million per kilo. Other source placed the figure at P1.1 million per kilo.
Oaminal said it took four months for PDEA to conduct surveillance but because this was prematurely divulged, the culprit may never be identified.
Oaminal also said the credit must go to PDEA-Manila. The Central Visayas office assisted by providing personnel and transportation.
Ephedrine is not illegal per se. PDEA issues permits to import the item, especially to licensed drug manufacturers, or those engaged in the manufacture and trading of medicine.
According to Medline Plus Drug Information, pseudoephedrine is a decongestant that relieves nasal discomfort caused by colds, allergies, and hay fever. It also opens nasal airways and drains sinuses.
This batch of pseudoephedrine arrived as loose cargo. This means that this was shipped to Cebu in one container van, with different owners.
Such cargoes are brought directly to the customs warehouse, said Dionisio Edera of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service.
Customs police and PDEA agents were ordered to guard the shipment around the clock.
The BOC has a Task Force on Dangerous Drugs created by Commissioner Antonio Bernardo.
Stronger than marijuana and more affordable than cocaine, methamphetamines like shabu have been the most commonly abused drugs in the Philippines for over a decade.
(March 18, 2004 issue)
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