P1.5M worth of shabu seized in Zambo airport

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Police security forces intercepted Wednesday morning an estimated P1.5 million worth of high grade methamphetamine hydrochloride in Zamboanga International Airport (ZIA) while being attempted to be slipped as cargo parcel bound for Jolo, Sulu.

Police Senior Inspector Rey Bassig, commander of the Aviation Security Group stationed at ZIA, said the prohibited drug was detected by the personnel of the Office of the Transport Security (OTS) manning the x-ray machine about 8:15 a.m.

He said the OTS personnel noticed the suspicious cargo that prompted them to pull it for inspection and discovered the white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu. 

The illegal drug, weighing more or less 200 grams, were sealed in plastic packs and rolled on other black plastics and sealed within packs of powdered native coffee. 

The contraband packs was then mixed among small carton boxes of cake mix flour and sealed in a small carton parcel of a forwarder.

Basig said the parcel containing shabu, which arrived in this city from Manila Tuesday afternoon aboard a commercial passenger plane, originated from a shipper from Las Piñas identified as a certain Abdusahar Albi and consigned with a certain Nadzmir Muradjam of Jolo.

“When the parcel was attempted to be slipped on commercial flight bound for Jolo, our OTS personnel discovered the suspicious items,” Bassig said. 

He said it was the fourth time they have intercepted big volume of shabu using the forwarding scheme concealing the drugs on either among packed powder milk or dairy products.

Bassig said they suspected the shipment could have the same source of drug syndicate citing the trademark of scheme in slipping the contraband.

Last December, the ZIA security personnel also intercepted 19 kilos of shabu concealed on milk packs that was consigned to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar questioned the security lapses in the Manila airport for failure to detect the contraband despite having all the security equipment installed at its airport terminal.

Bassig said on their level in the ZIA, they have already required all parcels and cargoes from the forwarding companies to be subjected under x-ray machines following their series of successful interception of huge volume of illegal drugs at the ZIA.