Instead of the foreclaimed clothes, close to 3,000 tablets of ecstasy were found in a parcel shipped from the Netherlands to Manila.
A total of 2,878 tablets of the party drug ecstasy valued at around P4.9 million were uncovered in a parcel that was declared to contain clothes for women and children, and a pair of shoes.
According to the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the party drugs were found stuffed in 12 packs and were glued within the box. A chemical laboratory analysis later confirmed that the tablets were indeed ecstasy.
It was disclosed that the package was sent by a certain Mary Lumbao Edward from the Netherlands, and consigned to a certain resident of Malate, Manila.
The Port of NAIA and its Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group along with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) conducted a controlled delivery on Monday, Feb. 15 to arrest the persons behind the drug shipment.
During the operation, a certain Ronron Salonga from Port Area, Manila was apprehended after claiming the parcel.
The claimant, together with the illegal drugs, is now under the custody of PDEA.
The bureau said the claimant is under investigation for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act in relation to Section 118 (Prohibited Importation), Section 1113 (Goods Liable for Seizure and Forfeiture), and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to Section 1401 (Unlawful Importation).Â