BOC seizes P58 million worth of shabu in shipment from Nigeria

More than 8 kilograms of shabu worth over P58 million were seized by authorities from a shipment in San Andres, Manila, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Wednesday.

In a statement, Customs officials said at least 8.575 kilograms of the illegal drugs valued at around P58.31 million were found inside cargo arriving from Nigeria that was initially declared as “food stuff.”

BOC said an evaluation of the freight goods’ import documents and verification, however, showed that the shipment was illegally imported into the country and without the necessary permits from the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI).

This prompted the BOC-Ninoy Aquino International Airport (BOC-NAIA) to coordinate with the DA-BPI as part of due diligence and to further check for other possible violations.

BOC-NAIA also coordinated with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the NAIA-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA IADITG) to verify if there are illegal drugs inside the subject importation.

A physical examination of the shipment turned up kilograms of white crystalline substance concealed in the packages of various dried spices. The white substance was later confirmed to be shabu by the PDEA.

The illegal drugs are now in the custody of PDEA for further investigation and for case build-up against individuals involved for possible prosecution for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in relation to Section 1401 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA News