Australian arrested at NAIA, yields ₱27.2M worth of shabu in drug bust

Authorities have arrested an Australian at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after his backpack yielded four kilos of alleged shabu, worth P27.2 million, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Friday.

PDEA said the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group arrested the 63-year-old at the Customs International Arrival Area’s Customs Exclusion Room.

The suspect had arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa, with a connecting flight via Hong Kong, and was intercepted before he entered the country.

Seized from the suspect were around four kilograms of suspected shabu with an estimated standard drug price value of P27,254,400, according to the PDEA.

The illegal drugs were concealed inside a black backpack containing two improvised wooden boxes wrapped in colored paper.

Inside the boxes, there were two transparent plastic bags wrapped in carbon paper containing white crystalline substance.

Also recovered from the suspect were personal belongings such as a notebook, keys, a calculator, a charger, assorted coins, clothing, and luggage.

The suspect’s travel documents, identification cards, bank cards, assorted foreign currencies, and a mobile phone were also confiscated.

He will face charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Seized substances will be submitted to the appropriate forensic laboratory for qualitative and quantitative examination, the PDEA said. –NB, GMA Integrated News