Woman arrested for receiving package containing P16.9 million worth of party drugs

Anti-narcotics and Customs operatives have arrested a woman for accepting a package containing party drugs worth P16.9 million.

According to John Consulta's 24 Oras Weekend report on Saturday, the woman was identified as Elisa Mae Ilas, who claimed the package containing nearly 10,000 tablets of party drug ecstasy.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said the package arrived at the Clark International Airport from Belgium on November 3.

In a separate statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the illegal drugs were concealed inside four bed sheets from a shipment declared as “bed sheets, lady bag, watch, shoes, cloth."

"Subsequently, samples were turned over to PDEA for the conduct of chemical laboratory analysis which confirmed that the tablets were indeed methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ecstasy," it said.

"On November 5, 2021, a controlled delivery operation was conducted by the joint elements of PDEA, Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) - Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF) and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), to the consignee’s address [in] Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City, which resulted [in] the arrest of the claimant," the BOC said.

Ilas, however, claimed that she did not know who sent the package.

She is currently detained at the PDEA facility and facing charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.  — Richa Noriega/VBL, GMA News