As part of the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) strengthened anti-illegal drug campaign, the BOC – Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG) arrested a claimant after discovering poppy pods with seeds inside a parcel on May 9, 2023, at the Central Mail Exchange Center, Pasay City.

During the conduct of intensive regular X-ray screening at the CMEC warehouse, a parcel misdeclared as “prepared food of cereals corn flakes” originating from Murcia, Spain was marked “X” by the X-ray Inspection Project (XIP) inspector due to irregular and suspicious images appearing on the screen.

The Customs examiner conducted a thorough physical examination in the presence of the claimant, representatives from XIP, Customs Anti-illegal Drug Task Force, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, Enforcement and Security Service, and PDEA.

Immediately after the physical examination, the subject parcel yielded more or less 5.05 kilos of poppy pods with seeds, a precursor of opium.

The PDEA conducted a test on the seized narcotics which turned out to be positive for the presence of Opium, a dangerous drug and a prohibited importation.

The claimant was arrested for violation of the Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Republic Act 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

The BOC-NAIA, under the leadership of District Collector Carmelita M. Talusan, reaffirms its commitment to deterring the entry or proliferation of illegal drugs by securing the borders, aligned with the directive of Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“We commend the vigilance of BOC-NAIA and our inter-agency partners in intercepting this illegal shipment. This is a testament to our unified efforts in safeguarding our borders and protecting our people from the harmful effects of illegal drugs.” said Commissioner Rubio.#