The Bureau of Customs – Port of Clark, together with the Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), Enforcement & Security Service (ESS), Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), X-ray Inspection Project (XIP) & Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), seized 129 capsules of Cocaine with an estimated value of Php 731,400.00 last July 20, 2022 which were discovered inside a shipment said to contain ‘shirts’.

The shipment containing illegal drugs was shipped from Queen Street West, Toronto, Canada. It was profiled by the assigned Customs Examiner and subjected to physical examination which led to the findings of four (4) boxes of Mike and Ike Candies containing 129 pcs. capsules of white powdery substance suspected to be illegal drugs.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) conducted K9 sniffing which resulted to positive indications of presence of illegal drugs. Thereafter, the Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF) conducted field testing which detected substances of “Mixture of Cocaine and Lidocaine”. Representative samples were then taken and turned over to PDEA for chemical laboratory analysis which confirmed that the samples are indeed positive for the presence of Cocaine, a dangerous drug under R.A. No. 9165.

Warrant of Seizure and Detention was issued by District Collector Alexandra Lumontad against the subject shipment for violation of Sections 118 (g), 119 (d) and 1113 par. f, i & l (3 & 4) of R.A. No. 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to R.A. No. 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The Bureau of Customs and Port of Clark, in close coordination with PDEA and other regulating agencies, commit to further intensify the implementation of border protection measures to prevent the entry of illegal goods into the country.