Authorities seized 416 empty bullets found inside one of the boxes of an American woman of Filipino descent at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said the empty bullets, which are ammunition for a caliber .38 gun, were detected during an x-ray inspection at the airport, reported ABS-CBN News.
The passenger, who arrived from Hawaii, was on her way to Laoag City. She explained that her brother-in-law requested her to bring home the box. The passenger insisted that her brother-in-law told her the box only contained clothes.
MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal clarified that the “tanim-bala” is no longer present in the airport.
“Diretsuhin natin. Hindi po tanim-bala ito. Ito po ay dala ng pasahero at tinanggap niya na siya ang may dala at hindi niya lang alam yung laman. Nakalusot man dun, mahigpit tayo dito,” Monreal said.
Monreal added that passengers themselves should pack their own baggages to avoid inconvenience in cases of banned items found inside their bags.
“[Kapag] ang isang bagahe in-entrust sayo, unang-una hindi ka dapat tatanggap. As a matter of requirements ng airline, as a passenger, dapat ikaw ang nagpa-pack mismo ng bagahe. Alam mo ang laman para hindi ka masingitan,” Monreal said.
The passenger was not arrested and later on boarded her connecting flight to Laoag since the bullets were already empty and no criminal intent was seen from the passenger.
The bullets, however, were still confiscated by the MIAA
