BOC foils smuggling of 12.1-M ecstasy

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized Friday 1,269 pieces of ecstasy with an estimated street value of 12.157 million at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Port of NAIA and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents seized the shipment of ecstasy from the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City. The drug haul was turned over to the PDEA.

Officials said the party drugs came from the Netherlands through a certain G. Voorthuzen and the shipment was declared as “lightbox.” Upon examination, the package yielded three self-sealing plastic bags of ecstasy tablets.

In 2018, BOC-NAIA foiled a total of 30 illegal drug shipments in compliance with the directive of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero to continuously secure the borders and in support of the anti-drug campaign of President Duterte.

During that year, the Port of NAIA recorded approximately P28.381 million worth of ecstasy seizures. These include 962 pieces of ecstasy from the Netherlands in April; 1,003 pieces of ecstasy from Germany in July; and 14,730 pieces ecstasy from France in August – the highest recorded ecstasy seizure of the port in 2018.

BOC-NAIA, through the leadership of District Collector Mimel M. Talusan, vowed to l continue serving the public and protecting the country’s borders against entry and exit of illicit goods.