MANILA – Information gap between the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was partly blamed for the slipping of shabu worth P6.8 billion through the Manila International Container Port.
PDEA director Aaron Aquino said they found four empty magnetic lifters with traces of shabu in a warehouse inside CRS Subdivision in Barangay F. Reyes, General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite on Friday.
“Initial information reveals that these illegal drugs came from Taiwan, Republic of China, and the syndicates only used Malaysia as a transshipping point,” Aquino said in a statement. “This is very saddening. P6.8 billion worth of illegal drugs are now circulating anew in our streets.”
Aside from the magnetic lifters, certain documents – including business and shipment records and bank papers – were also discovered inside the warehouse.
BOC commissioner Isidro Lapeña on Saturday said if only they had been immediately alerted, he could have ordered the seizure of the shipments.
Concealing illegal drugs inside magnetic lifters was also the method used in the smuggled shabu shipments worth P4.3 billion earlier seized at the Port of Manila.
“The Bureau of Customs, being the frontliner in the war against drugs, should have been involved in this operation at the start and provided with the necessary information in time,” Lapeña said.
“Let me emphasize the importance of information sharing among agencies. The key here is timely information sharing between agencies. Proper coordination and intelligence sharing is crucial,” he added.
Despite this, Lapeña stressed that there is “no strain” between the two agencies.
Aquino believes that a certain “Golden Triangle Syndicate” – an international drug group – is behind the P6.8-billion shabu shipment.
“Initially, we have at least 19 persons of interest, including 11 Chinese nationals. We cannot reveal their names yet because of continuous operations. But a certain Tony Chan has acted as the middleman of the transaction,” said Aquino.
The PDEA is coordinating with its counterparts in China, Malaysia and the United States for the ongoing probe. (With a report from GMA News/PN)
