Assorted pieces of gold jewelry weighing 24.4 kilos with an estimated worth of around P80 million were found by personnel of Bureau of Customs (BOC) hidden inside an airplane lavatory at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Thursday, Nov. 17, in what was deemed as a brazen attempt to smuggle jewelries through the country's primary airport.

The jewelries were discovered by Customs boarding inspectors from the Aircraft Operations Division during boarding formalities at Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR 301 which arrived in Manila from Hong Kong around 7 p.m., said Customs and PAL authorities.

BOC NAIA District Collector Carmelita M. Talusan said she ordered for a thorough investigation to identify the persons responsible for the attempted smuggling of the jewelries.

In a separate statement, PAL said that the airlines company "is cooperating with authorities conducting the investigation."

PAL said there was a tampering inside the aircraft lavatory which they immediately reported to the Philippine National Police — Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEGROUP) and BOC NAIA.

"PAL continues to cooperate with the PNP and the BOC to ensure an orderly and thorough probe," PAL said.

"Pending the completion of the investigations of the authorities, PAL is unable to issue any further statement on the issue. Rest assured, the investigation is underway to ferret out the truth behind this incident," it added.