For 'bringing in' shabu ingredient: Two Chinese fall at airport

CEBU, Philippines - Two Chinese nationals were arrested at the Mactan Cebu International Airport yesterday on suspicion of trying to smuggle into the country an ingredient for the manufacture of shabu.

Seized from one of the suspects, a woman, who is five months pregnant, were three kilos of ephedrine, which could produce shabu worth P21 million on the street.

Aside from the chemicals, US$ 20,000 were also found in her possession, which is a violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Law. People entering and leaving the country are only allowed to carry a maximum of US$ 10,000.

The female suspect was identified as Xuiyu Tan, 27 years old. Her companion, Iek Man Wong, 55 years old, was also detained.

An examiner of the Bureau of Customs said that Wong is a regular visitor of Cebu, which is the reason why they had him watched.

It was reportedly noticed that he had a shoulder bag when he arrived, but before going into the comfort room, he handed the bag to Tan.

Aside from her papers, the bag that Tan carried was also checked and the money was found. This prompted the Customs authorities to bring her to their office where the money was counted.

At the office, Tan also agreed to have her luggage inspected and the three kilos of ephedrine were found.

Wong, who noticed that Tan got into trouble, went to the Customs office and said that she was his girlfriend.

The two arrived on board flight 5J239 from Hong Kong around 4:30 a.m.

The Customs officials asked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to check on the substance that they found, which smelled like bleach.

When the canine unit was brought in, it was found that the substance was indeed ephedrine.

Officials of the PDEA, however, clarified that the value of ephedrine itself cannot be determined as the substance is just one of the ingredients for the manufacture of methamphetamine hydrochloride also known as shabu.

Tan reportedly explained that the substance was not illegal and she brought it to be used as preservative for bean sprout locally called as taogi.

According to the Bureau of Immigration-Cebu, Tan has come to Cebu eight times since last year while Wong has shuttled between Hong Kong and Cebu 21 times for the same period.

In seven of the trips of Tan, Wong also came to Cebu.

The two came here on January 12, 2010; March 2, 2010; March 20, 2010; April 22, 2010; August 16, 2010; February 16, 2011; and March 2, 2011.

 Tan arrived in Cebu without Wong on June 1, 2010.

On the other hand, aside from those dates, Wong arrived in Cebu on May 22, 2010; June 28, 2010; July 26, 2010; August 30, 2010; September 13, 2010; October 4, 2010; November 5, 2010; November 16, 2010; November 30, 2010; December 14, 2010; December 21, 2010; January 4, 2011 and January 20, 2011.

Collector Ronnie Silvestre of the Port of Cebu said that a warrant of seizure will be issued for the confiscated money in favor of the government while the ephedrine will be turned over to PDEA.

It was learned from Fe Toring, deputy collector for airport services of sub-port of Mactan of the BoC, that they only conduct manual inspection of the luggage as the airport’s x-ray machine is not working.

She said that the machine has a lifespan of 20 years but the machine is now more than 20 years.

PDEA regional director Adrian Alvariño said that the confiscated chemicals were sent to Manila to laboratory analysis.

The two suspects are currently detained at the PDEA-7 stockade. — with Ria Mae Y. Booc/NLQ (FREEMAN)