Shabu, chemicals found in abandoned van

MANILA, Philippines – Methamphetamine hydrochloride and chemicals used to manufacture the illegal drug, better known as shabu, were found in a van abandoned at the parking lot of a mall in Pasay City, an official said yesterday.

Fifty packets of what police suspect to be shabu, four plastic bottles of palladium chloride, 10 plastic bottles of an unidentified white powder, 10 plastic bottles of a crystalline substance and 25 kilos of caustic soda flakes were found in the Foton TransVan, which had been parked at the mall for at least 13 days, said Director Joel Pagdilao, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief.

The chemicals – which could be used to manufacture at least 50 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P250 million – are being analyzed by chemists from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, he said.

“We have prevented what could be a big source of shabu from being peddled in Metro Manila streets. We are happy that our force multipliers, like the security guards, are helping us in our bid to curb the supply of illegal drugs in the metropolis,” he said.

Pagdilao said he rushed to the mall parking lot at about 9 a.m. yesterday after a security guard reported the presence of an abandoned white van with conduction sticker GB2585.

In the presence of Pagdilao, members of the Pasay police community precinct 11 searched the vehicle and found the chemicals inside.

Pagdilao said crime scene investigators lifted latent prints from inside the van to identify who had abandoned it.

The Southern Police District is coordinating with the Pasay police’s anti-car theft unit to trace the owner of the van. – With Mike Frialde, Perseus Echeminada