Mother and son caught with P170M shabu at Cebu City port

Around 25 kilos of suspected illegal drugs were confiscated from a mother and son at Pier 4 in Cebu City past 7 a.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2025. The seized drugs have an estimated standard market value of P170 million. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A 41-year-old man and his mother were intercepted upon their arrival at the pier in Cebu City on early Thursday morning, January 23, after refusing to undergo a routine inspection.
With the help of a K-9 unit, authorities discovered P170 million worth of suspected shabu inside the suspects’ vehicle.
The suspects were identified as alias Edward, 41, a truck driver residing in Isabel, Leyte; and his mother, alias “Edna,” 63, jobless, a resident of Barangay Ermita, Cebu City.
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The mother and son, who came from Masbate, arrived at the Pier 4 in Cebu City at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, onboard a vehicle.
Upon their arrival at the port, however, they reportedly attempted to avoid a routine narcotic K9 inspection by personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) Seaport Interdiction Unit Cebu and other partner agencies.
This behavior prompted authorities to stop and detain them.
A K-9 dog named “Bayani” then detected suspicious items inside a big brown carton box inside the vehicle which turned out to be P170M shabu..
After opening the box, operatives discovered that it contained 25 packs of alleged shabu weighing a total of 25 kilograms.
The seized drugs has an estimated standard market value of P170 million.
Chemists from the PDEA-7 Regional Office Laboratory then conducted an on-site screening test on the recovered substances. The test yielded a positive result for the presence of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
One of the suspects claimed they were merely tasked with transporting the vehicle to Cebu City from Masbate and were unaware it contained P170M shabu. She also said that she did not know the person who instructed them to deliver the vehicle.
As of this writing, both the mother and son are kept in the custody of PDEA-7. They will be facing charges for the sale of illegal drugs.
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