A male consignee was arrested on Monday night at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after the shipment under his name was found to have contained 58.93 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) said on Tuesday.
Reports said the suspect, who remains unidentified, went to one of the warehouses at NAIA to claim the package which contained contraband instead of spare parts that came from Guinea, West Africa via a commercial carrier.
Customs conducted a routine X-ray scan on the shipment which discovered a contraband.
Upon closer examination on the boxes, PDEA discovered the illicit drugs which they said have an estimated street value of P400,724,000.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officials confirmed that the substance the BoC found was methamphetamine.
The BoC said an investigation is being carried out by PDEA pending inquest proceedings against the suspect for violation of RA 9165 and RA 10863 or Customs Modernization Act.
"The BoC-NAIA will heighten its vigilance against illicit goods and border protection efforts to meet revenue targets and ensure a fair trade," a NAIA official said.
Tags: #drugclaimant, #declaredspareparts, #hugeamountofshabu, #bocnaia, #pdea, #borderprotection