Security officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted cash amounting to P800,000 from a couple travelling to Japan on Thursday morning, March 6, authorities reported.
Official incident reports from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Philippine National Police’s Aviation Security Group (PNP AVSEGROUP) said the Filipino couple was bound for Nagoya, Japan via Philippine Airlines flight PR 468 which was scheduled to depart at 7:35 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 1. However, they were stopped by an x-ray operator of the Office of Transportation Security (OTS) at the final security check.
The BOC and PNP AVSEGROUP reported that the x-ray operator “detected an image resembling cash inside a black trolley bag belonging to the passengers as it passed through the x-ray machine.”
According to Customs and police, security officers conducted a manual inspection of the black trolley bag which resulted in the discovery of the cash.
Read: Rules on carrying cash to and from the Philippines: What to keep in mind
The Customs and police reported that after the verified counting of the Philippine currency, a total of P250,000 were returned to the couple and they were allowed to take their flight.
Meanwhile, a held baggage receipt was issued for the amount of P550,000 in violation of Sections 117 and 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circular No. 1146, which pertains to rules on cross-border transfer of local and foreign currencies.
The confiscated Philippine currency was turned over to the In-bond Unit, Baggage Assistance Division of the BOC for safekeeping, according to the incident reports.
A customs examiner has also recommended the issuance of a Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) for the confiscated cash.