No illegal drugs on Chinese ship - BOC

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya , Philippines  – No illegal drugs were found on board a North Korean-skippered Chinese vessel, which ran aground off the Cagayan-Ilocos Norte coast in the early hours of the New Year.

In a report, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Cagayan province belied reports that the ship, M/V Nam Yang 8, was carrying illegal drugs, as reportedly earlier assumed by a joint team of the immigration and Customs offices in Ilocos Norte, the Coast Guard and police which searched the vessel off Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

According to earlier reports, the inspection team led by one Paul Versoza, Ilocos Norte immigration officer, discovered shabu and marijuana leaves in one of the vessel’s compartments. 

“(It was found out that) the substance and leaves found on the boat were being used as food additives by the Koreans,” said Oliver Lagazo, BOC-Cagayan officer.

Lagazo and two Cagayan-based immigration agents also conducted separate confirmatory inspections on the ship.

Even Cagayan Valley police director Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian, quoting reports from his men in the field, doubted the reports on the illegal drugs.

The vessel’s 22 North Korean crewmen, all reportedly still being held in Claveria, Cagayan, denied they were carrying any illegal drugs, saying what was probably found were only “tea” and “flour.”