Medicines, pirated CDs intercepted at NAIA

Customs authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted yesterday two bags containing smuggled medicines and "mother copies" of video CDs with a combined value of more than P1 million.

Airport District Collector Celso Templo said the medicines arrived on board a Korean Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, while the VCDs were unloaded from a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Templo said that the medicines, which included multi-vitamins and anti-biotics, were seized because the owner had no prior clearance from the Bureau of Food and Drugs Administration to import such items. The VCDs, weighing more than a kilo, were found to be of commercial quantity.

Airport collector for passenger services Adelina Molina said the VCDs were abandoned by the owner at the luggage carousel, indicating that there was an attempt to smuggle them.

Airport Customs police chief Esmeralda Saplala said that medicines were discovered when the luggage passed through the X-ray machines and was checked because it contained suspicious items.

According to Templo, the seized goods would be auctioned, and the still unidentified passengers would be criminally charged for attempted smuggling.

The "mother copies" of the VCDs are believed intended for mass production in the country. – Rey Arquiza