Mailed Viagra seized at San Juan post office

MANILA, Philippines - Customs agents seized 268 pieces of capsules for erectile dysfunction at the San Juan Post Office.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) estimated the blue-colored capsules to be worth about P40,000.

They have been turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

In a statement, the BOC said the capsules were contained in a parcel misdeclared as “assorted pharmaceutical products.”

The parcel was mailed from the US some 10 months ago and arrived at the San Juan Post Office last Jan. 18.

It was reportedly consigned to an Angelica Amor Vasquez whose address was listed at 171 Gomez Street, Barangay Addition Hills, San Juan.

The BOC suspect the capsules to be sildenafil citrate, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and sold under various trade names like Viagra.

Customs intelligence agents became curious after the parcel remained unclaimed for the past eight months and decided to open it.

The parcel was seized for violating Section 2530 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), as amended, in relation to the Food and Drug Administration law, rules and regulations and the Intellectual Property Code or Republic Act 8293.

Customs Commissioner John Sevilla said all imported products whether arriving by ship, balikbayan box or postal parcels are subject to Customs inspection and may be charged with corresponding duties and taxes.

“Unscrupulous individuals sometimes try to use postal mail and express parcels to ship illegal or prohibited items to and from the Philippines because they think that there is minimal chance of being caught,” he said.

“Let this be a warning to the public that we are closely monitoring all mail, parcels, and packages.”

The BOC has seized over P500 million worth of illegal drugs and other controlled chemicals.

They include shabu, marijuana, Ecstasy, Valium, Ativan, Dormicum, Rivotril, Alprazolam, Ritalin and other unlabeled tablets.

In another case, Custom agents arrested a woman, identified as Llana Cabangbang, for selling fake BOC official receipts.

Edgar Macabeo, Customs District Collector at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), said they are monitoring all illegal activities in the airport and its   vicinity.

“When we received reports that unscrupulous individuals are selling fake Customs official receipts we immediately acted on it,” he said.

Cabangbang faces charges for alleged violation of Article 172 of the Revised Penal and Section 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code, as amended. – Evelyn Macairan, Zinnia dela Peña