P81.6M shabu found in three LED light boxes inside Mandaue City warehouse

Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas prepare to test the 12 packs of suspected shabu inside three boxes of 500 watt LED light boxes stored in a courier express company’s warehouse in Cebu City on August 15, 2020. | Alven Marie A. Timtim

(Updated) CEBU CITY, Philippines — A routine patrol of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas agents in courier express companies’ warehouses in Mandaue City on the evening of August 15, 2020 yielded P81.6 million worth of suspected shabu.

The 12 packs of suspected shabu weighing an estimated 12 kilos were found inside three boxes of 500 Watt LED lights stored in one of the courier express company’s warehouses in Cebu City, said PDEA-7 Director Levi Ortiz in an interview.

Ortiz said that the K9 brought by the agents sat on one of the boxes, which contained the LED lights.

PDEA-7 agents confiscate 12 packs of suspected shabu with an estimated worth of P81.6 million inside LED light boxes found in a courier express company’s warehouse. | Alven Marie A. Timtim

He said that the K9’s behavior would show that there were contraband inside the boxes.

After receiving reports of illegal drugs coming from Manila, the PDEA-7 agents decided to have the boxes undergo an X-ray scan so they coordinated with the Cebu Port police to allow them to use their X-ray scanners.

Ortiz said they then transported the boxes to Pier 3 in Cebu City where they underwent an X-ray scan.

“To be sure atong girequest ang port Police ipa agi og X-ray ang mga cargos para klaro makita gyud sa sulod… mao to pag X-ray naa nigawas nga organic substance which is unlikely for an inorganic material,” said Ortiz.

(To be sure that about their suspicion of the boxes contained contraband, they requested to the port police to have the boxes or cargoes undergo an X-ray scan so that we will see what is inside. So the results showed an organic substance inside the boxes which was unlikely for an inorganic material.)

With this X-ray results, PDEA-7 agents decided to open the boxes and found 12 large packs inside the 500 Watt LED light which were inside three boxes.

The 12 kilos of suspected shabu are found inside the LED light (table foreground) which were placed inside three boxes. | Alven Marie A. Timtim

Ortiz said that at least 4 packs were inside the holder of each LED lights.

According to Ortiz, they have identified the receiver and recipient of the cargo and a follow-up operation is now being conducted to trace the whereabouts of the individuals.

Read: Food delivery service driver caught with P6.8M shabu

Read: Guadalupe bust yields P7M shabu, nets two HVTs

The confiscation of the contraband worth P81.6 million followed several buy-bust operations last week conducted by the police and the PDEA-7 where at least P14.28 million suspected shabu were confiscated./dbs