Philippine authorities are still conducting an investigation to identify the persons behind the shipping of two cadavers that were discovered inside a container van in Thailand last week.
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) confirmed the discovery of a male and a female decomposing bodies based on coordination with their counterparts in Thailand while the Bureau of Customs, on the other hand, said it is also “verifying and investigating the matter.”
Based on the information received by the PPA, two bodies were discovered inside a container van that arrived at the Laem Chabang Port in Thailand on Sept. 28. The container van was unloaded from a ship that left the Philippines on Sept. 23.
When the container van was transported to a warehouse to be cleaned on Oct. 2, Thailand port authorities discovered the cadavers inside—the female cadaver was wearing a gold ring while that of the male cadaver had tattoos on the chest, back and arm.
Also discovered inside the container van was a black shirt with the name and seal of a fraternity.
The container van was declared empty after an inspection in a port of Manila and the PPA believes that there was intervention made that resulted in the placement of the cadavers inside before it was shipped to Thailand.
The PPA has earlier admitted that it has no reliable monitoring system of container after its Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS) was shelved due to the opposition of some shipping lines, apparently the reason why it is taking too long to trace where the container van containing the cadavers went after it was inspected and before it was shipped to Thailand.
TOP-CRMS uses technology for up-to-date container tracking that allows customers, carriers, freight forwarders, and shippers to access the status of their cargoes and containers.
It is expected to keep a registry and monitor all inbound shipping containers that will track every foreign-owned container’s location and movement using the industry- accepted data interchange formats through encrypted channels.
The two cadavers are expected to undergo forensics examination as soon as they arrive in the Philippines.