The Bureau of Customs (BOC) – Port of Clark, in close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), X-ray Inspection Project (XIP), Enforcement and Security Service (ESS), and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), seized a total of 31,250 grams of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride or Shabu with an estimated value of P212,500,000.00 found in a parcel declared as “routers”.

Upon receiving derogatory information from PDEA, a shipment from New Jersey, USA, which arrived on March 21, 2024, was immediately subjected to x-ray scanning and K9 sniffing. Both inspection indicated possible presence of prohibited drugs.

Physical examination was conducted which led to the findings of 29 packs of vacuum sealed transparent plastic, which contain crystalline substances suspected to be Shabu.

Samples were then taken and turned over to PDEA for chemical laboratory analysis which confirmed the presence of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride or commonly known as “Shabu”, a dangerous drug under R.A. No. 9165.

A Warrant of Seizure and Detention was issued by District Collector Erastus Sandino B. Austria against the subject shipment for violation of Section 118 (g), 119 (d), and 1113 par. f, I, and l (3 and 4) of R.A. No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to R.A. No. 9165.

District Collector Austria commended PDEA, CAIDTF, ESS, CIIS, and XIP for their relentless collaboration and effort to safeguard the country against the entry of prohibited drugs. According to District Collector Austria, this is the biggest drug apprehension of the Port of Clark in a single shipment since 2020.

BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio emphasized, “We have heightened the security measures of the country’s borders, and in continuous coordination with PDEA and partner agencies to halt the entry of illegal drugs in the country as directed by His Excellency, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr.