AUTHORITIES have intercepted P160.5 million worth of assorted drugs including “shabu,” kush or hybrid marijuana and ecstasy, a party drug, inside the Clark Freeport the other day.
Two consignees were arrested as a result of the anti-drug operations.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Aaron Aquino said that the dangerous drugs were concealed inside packages declared as canned goods.
On December 28, 2018, joint operatives of PDEA Regional Office III under the supervision of Director Gil Pabilona, and PDEA Regional Office-National Capital Region (PDEA RO-NCR) under Director Joel Plaza, in collaboration with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), intercepted two boxes containing one kilo of shabu, worth P6,800,000, and 200 pieces of ecstasy tablets worth P340,000 hidden inside cans of tomato paste.
The discovery was made during the X-ray screening that revealed the boxes contained organic substances. The package was then subjected to PDEA K9 sweeping and yielded positive indication of illegal drugs. Upon inspection, it was found out that the canned tomato pastes leaked out.
A series of interdiction operations conducted by PDEA and the BOC on January 10, 13, and 14, 2019 in Clark Freeport, Pampanga led to the interception of 18 more kilograms of shabu, with an estimated market value of Php122,400,000, and three kilograms of kush, worth P3,800,000 which were concealed inside boxes passed off as food and clothing.
“All packages originated from Las Vegas City, Nevada, USA. However, the intended receivers failed to fetch the shipped goods,” Aquino said.
On January 16, 2019, around 5:30 p.m., the same operating unit arrested Edna Valenzuela, alias Belinda Azures, 44; and her daughter Judy Ann, 22, after receiving a package during a controlled delivery operation in their house along M. Naval Street, Barangay San Roque, Navotas City.
Confiscated from them were two carton boxes containing more or less four kilos of shabu, with an estimated street value of P27,200,000.
Controlled delivery is a technique used when a consignment of illicit drugs is detected and allowed to go forward under the control and surveillance of law enforcement officers in order to secure evidence against the organizers of such illicit drug traffic.
Cases for violation of Section 4 (Importation of Dangerous Drugs), in relation to Section 26 (Conspiracy to Import), and Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165, or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, await the suspects.
“The identities and information of the shippers, whose addresses were all in Las Vegas, Nevada, are currently the subject of investigation and validation.
Reports revealed that the recent trafficking of drug-laden packages was perpetrated by Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel and Chinese drug syndicates, Aquino added.