THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has recently cleared two businessmen who were accused of transporting hygienic products reportedly laced with an illegal substance during a shipment flagged at the Bureau of Customs-Port of Clark (BOC-Clark) in September 2020.
Cleared of any wrongdoing were businessmen Frederick Juan and Leonardo Gabalfin, who on September 21, 2020, were held in custody by the PDEA and Clark International Airport-Inter Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (CIA-IADITG) and questioned about two parcels containing hygiene kits allegedly laced with marijuana.
Joseph Samson, chief of the PDEA stationed at Clark airport, in a post interdiction report submitted to then PDEA Central Luzon Director Christian O. Frivaldo and released recently, said that after two tests, no dangerous drug, control precursors, or essential chemicals were found in the businessmen’s shipment allegedly bought through an online transaction from China.
In a statement, Juan and Gabalfin said the samples they submitted for chemical analysis showed no illegal substance and tests yielded negative results.
The two stressed that they are legitimate businessmen and the firm they represent, Metro Mobilia Corp., is a reputable company that only involves itself in legitimate business transactions.
Both Juan and Gabalfin have denied conducting any form of illegal activity.
A PDEA post-operation report that was recently released also showed that chemical analyses yielded negative results and that neither dangerous drugs nor control precursors and essential chemicals were found in the parcels.
PDEA Provincial officer Vidal Bacolod also issued a certification last year, reiterating that the shipment did not contain any illegal substance.
Bacolod also said that the agency has already cleared the businessmen and that no criminal charges were filed against them. (Chris Navarro)