BOC seizes medicine shipment

MANILA, Philippines - Six sacks of regulated drugs were seized at the Philippine Postal Service’s Central Mail Distribution Center in Pasay City yesterday by Bureau of Customs (BOC) agents.

Sixty kilos of anti-anxiety drugs Ativan (generic name lorazepam) and Valium (diazepam) and other medicine were consigned to Winnie Ramos of Marikina City and shipped by Faham Jamal of the Department of Sciences in Islamabad, Pakistan, BOC police director Willy Tolentino and anti-illegal drug task force head Sherwin Andrada told The STAR.

Andrada said the shipment, declared as “used clothing and shoes,” arrived in November 2013.

He said customs examiner Sally Mayorga, who examined the shipment, tried to notify Ramos for several days but the consignee never responded.

The shipment was turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, which will estimate the value of the medicine, Andrada said.