Authorities from the Bureau of Customs – Ninoy Aquino International Airport (BOC-NAIA) confiscated tea bags at a warehouse that contained 240 grams of crystal meth (shabu) with a total estimated value worth Php1.6 million.
The BOC-NAIA sent a team to a warehouse in Pasay after one of the Customs examiner found that one of the packaged tea products was used to conceal the drug.
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The package, which was declared as “assorted foodstuff”, was shipped by a certain “Yong Lee Chei” to a consignee from Caloocan City as per reports from the Philippine News Agency.
The sample submitted to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) laboratory tested positive for shabu.
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Records show that the package came from Malaysia — the same origin of the PHP1.63 billion worth of shabu in tea packages seized on Oct. 31, 2020.
The parcel was turned over to PDEA for case profiling and buildup, and prosecution of the persons for violation of Section 119 (Restricted Importation) and Section1401 (Unlawful Importation) of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
The operation was also conducted in coordination with PDEA and NAIA’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group.