P874-M shabu, equipment recovered in abandoned shabu lab

Manila, Philippines -  At least P874 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride and equipment to manufacture the illegal drug were recovered in the “abandoned” shabu laboratory discovered along the East Service Road in Parañaque City two weeks ago, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said yesterday.

The laboratory is housed in what used to be a garments factory along Kilometer 19, a few meters away from Muntinlupa City Community Precinct 3 along Sucat Road, PDEA said.

Parañaque police officers discovered the laboratory last June 4 while chasing three robbery suspects who broke into the gated compound to escape arrest.

“The property (in Parañaque) is about three times larger than the one-hectare clandestine laboratory in Ayala Alabang. The basement was used as laboratory for manufacturing shabu. The ground floor was utilized as storage for chemicals, while the second floor served as the cooling or drying area. Our chemists had to work for eight straight days to finish processing the facility and conducting chemical analysis,” PDEA officer-in-charge Carlos Gadanap said.

PDEA agents recovered 372 kilos of ephedrine; 100 liters of liquid methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu); 8,419 kilos of solid chemicals and 39, 884 liters of liquid chemicals, and several pieces of manufacturing equipment.

Gadanap noted the similarities between the abandoned laboratory to two laboratories discovered in Ayala Alabang village last January. “All of these facilities employ the Nagai process using red phosphorous to manufacture shabu,” he said.

PDEA agents also recovered blister packs of Novahist tablets, a brand of antihistamine that is not sold in the Philippines, from the abandoned laboratory. The tablets were also found in the Ayala Alabang laboratories.

“We presume that these [Novahist] tablets are being smuggled into the country. It is not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drug. We also have no record that PDEA issued import permit for the legitimate importation of Novahist,” Gadanap said.