Over P43-M illegal drugs intercepted at Pasay mail hub

Authorities intercepted eight abandoned inbound parcels containing suspected illegal drugs at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) along Domestic Road, Pasay City on Friday, 9 October.

Shipment records indicated that the parcels came from senders based in Mexico, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Malaysia and Belgium, with listed recipients in Cavite, Tarlac and Laguna.

An interdiction operation involving members of the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG) led to the discovery of suspected illegal drugs in eight abandoned parcels.

The substances were initially detected during cargo X-ray screening by Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel, followed by K-9 paneling by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and subsequent manual inspection.

Recovered substances included approximately 5,222 grams of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, 261 grams of suspected cocaine, 482 tablets suspected to be ecstasy (MDMA), 1,047 grams of suspected marijuana kush, and 1,001 grams of suspected ketamine.

Shabu, cocaine and ecstasy had a combined standard drug price of P37,712,300 while the marijuana kush and ketamine had a combined street drug value of P6,052,000 bringing the total drug value to P43,764,300.

The seized substances will be turned over to the PDEA national office in Quezon City for proper disposition. PDEA will take cognizance of the case for further investigation and appropriate action.