P54 M shabu seized from Indonesian at NAIA

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized an estimated P54 million worth of shabu from an Indonesian national at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Monday morning.

The suspect was identified as Agnes Alexandra. The Indonesian was carrying about eight (8) kilos of shabu in her luggage, which a Customs officer discovered in NAIA. Alexandra arrived in NAIA at 2:30 a.m. from a flight from Siam Reap, Cambodia.

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The BOC and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confirmed that the illegal drugs confiscated from the Indonesian was crystal meth or shabu.

Officials turned over the foreigner to PDEA authorities.

The suspect will be charged with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

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On September 29, another passenger from Cambodia tried to smuggle shabu but was intercepted at NAIA. Because of this, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand flights were put under tighter surveillance.

The P35 million worth of shabu was found in abandoned luggage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.

Authorities already arrested the suspect for smuggling the P35 million shabu in NAIA.

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The police traced the suspect Nazarene Orbillo in Tarlac. His name was written on the bag tag found on the luggage while his address was on his customs declaration form.

It was learned that Obillo boarded a plane to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and arrived on a connecting flight from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Authorities initially thought the bag contains undeclared taxable items. When Obillo did not return for his bag, they decided to open the bag and confiscated 5-kilos of high-grade shabu.

According to the police, they assumed that Obillo was just a new drug courier based on his actions and the fact that he did not hide his real identity and address.