P133.6-M worth of drugs seized in Clark, Pasay
CLARK FREEPORT— The Bureau of Customs (BoC) seized 17.96 kilos of shabu and 1.03 kilos of marijuana estimated to be worth P133.6 million in Clark and Pasay.
In a statement to Sun.Star Pampanga, BoC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña disclosed that some two kilos of suspected shabu were seized on June 20 at the Port of Clark estimated to be worth P13.6 million while in Pasay, seized inside the FedEx warehouse in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were 15.96 kilos of shabu and 1.03 kilos of marijuana.
At the Port of Clark, Lapeña said the shipment declared as foam bed, consigned to a certain Carlo Cruz Bintulan of Paranaque City was seized
based on the profiling and x-ray examination of the customs authorities.
“The sender, Tanya Dela Cruz of North Hills, California, was also the sender of the seized shabu decoyed as cooking grill at the Port of Clark,” Lapena said.
According to District Collector Lilibeth Sandag, the name of the consignee as well as its address are fictitious. Carlo Cruz Bintulan who resides in Paranaque City cannot be located by the customs officers.
“There are some circumstances when the package cannot be delivered to the consignee especially when the addresses are fictitious. We have already apprehended several claimants. These cannot be done without the efforts of the customs officers doing the examination on the ground as well as the strengthened coordination of the bureau with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA),” Lapeña added.
Over at NAIA, the illegal drugs seized on several occasions in the Pasay Port came from the United States. It was concealed inside five inbound parcels, Lapeña said.
The packages declared as DVD players, furniture, cereals, and baby carriers were intercepted in three weeks from May 26, 2018 to June 7, 2018, according to report from the Office of the District Collector of NAIA.
“The senders are Taylor Dizon, Eagle Po Box Rental, Gina Gamboa, Raven Mesina, Donna Mendoza and consigned to certain Christina Dizon, Alvin Santiago, Sergio Gamboa Natividad, Gracen Washington, and Ricardo Mendoza,” Lapeña said.
The parcels were subjected to a controlled delivery, however, the operations were not successful since the names and addresses of the consignees are fictitious.
The bureau chief continuously gives directives to ports to protect the borders against the illegal entry of contraband goods such as illegal drugs.
“The Port of NAIA, Customs Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force, X-ray operatives and Enforcement Group are devoted to doing their duty and are in full support to the BOC drive to strengthen vigilance towards curbing the entry of such anti-social and prohibited goods,”Collector Carmelita Talusan said.
The strengthened vigilance of customs authorities in 2018 has resulted in the weekly foiling of more than P200 million worth of shabu in NAIA.
The seized drugs have been turned over to the PDEA for proper disposal.— JTD