The Bureau of Customs’s (BOC) on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 seized some P56.399 million worth of shabu hidden in a balikbayan box that arrived at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) from Thailand.

According to BOC Commissioner Bien Rubio, the shabu packets weighing a total of 8,294 grams have tested positive upon testing by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

“The bureau has caught and seized quite a number of balikbayan boxes using the same modus—of these individuals or organizations trying to pass on illegal drugs and other items in a harmless balikbayan box.

Thankfully, our agents are on their toes and acted promptly after receiving the information,” he said.

CIIS Director Verne Enciso disclosed that CIIS Field Station-MICP received “derogatory information” about the shipment that was initially declared to contain household items, shoes, and motor parts from Thailand.

This shipment arrived in the Manila port last April 7.

However, information received by the office that it also contains illegal drugs and misdeclared and undeclared items was eventually verified through small baggage x-ray scanning and the 100% physical examination by the assigned Customs examiner at the Designated Examination Area (DEA) of the MICP after a request was promptly approved by District Collector Mimel Talusan.

The examination was witnessed by the CIIS, Enforcement and Security Service (ESS), Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), Environmental Protection and Compliance Division (EPCD), and PDEA.

“We’ve seen this before. This is nothing new to our agents. It only intensifies our desire to get to the bottom of this modus and put an end to the individuals, groups, and organizations who think they can bend our laws to their will. We work hard every day not only in big operations such as this, but in ensuring that we will prosecute these people,” Director Enciso added.

The shabu was hidden inside plastic pouches that are concealed inside two electric fans and five water heaters. Examination of the shipment revealed the presence of “white crystalline substance” totaling to 8,294 grams.

The breakdown, Enciso detailed, is as follows: the first electric fan contained eight pouches—340 grams, 364 grams, 48 grams, 72 grams, 188 grams, 318 grams, 154 grams, and 108 grams—with a total of 1,592 grams, while the second electric fan had 10 pouches—188 grams, 306 grams, 94 grams, 105 grams, 267 grams, 132 grams, 79 grams, 108 grams, 67 grams, and 233 grams—with a total of 1,579 grams.

Some five water heaters were also used to hide the shabu packets. They contained 1,015 grams, 1,204 grams, 1,022 grams, 823 grams, and 1,059 grams, totaling to 5,123 grams.

Based on PDEA estimates that a gram of shabu has a street value of 6,800, the total value of the shabu found in the said balikbayan box is P56,399,200. The analysis of the white crystalline substance by PDEA’s Rigaku’s Raman Spectroscopy yielded positive results for methamphetamine for both direct and test tube testing.

In lauding the operations, Deputy Commissioner for Customs Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy stressed the importance of ensuring that the drugs will not cause harm in the communities.

“Removing narcotics and any other kind of smuggled goods from the streets and markets is what makes the work that we do here worthwhile. Our agents are hard at work every day, utilizing the tools they have to identify, inspect, seize, and prosecute these criminals,” he said. The consignees, senders, and recipients of the balikbayan boxes will possibly face charges in violation of Section 118 (prohibited importation and exportation) and Section 1400 (misdeclaration) in goods declaration in relation to Section 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).