300 kilos of shabu missing?

MANILA, Philippines - Around 300 kilos of shabu could have slipped past authorities following the recovery of nearly empty crates and cylinders at a townhouse in Manila on Thursday, a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official said yesterday.

The crates could have been part of a shipment of 604 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P6.4 billion, seized from two warehouses in Valenzuela last May, PDEA National Capital Region director Wilkins Villanueva said in a radio interview.

The metal cylinders for printing machines recovered in Valenzuela were similar to those found in Manila, he added.

The three crates and cylinders recovered from the Manila townhouse were reported to contain shabu residue, according to Villanueva.

It was reported that two Taiwanese rented the townhouse then abandoned it, prompting the owner to report the presence of the three crates, which have been turned over to the PDEA.

Villanueva said the seizure of the 604 kilos of shabu, hidden in the cylinders that passed through the Bureau of Customs express lane, is a “clear manifestation” that illegal drugs are slipping through the government’s fingers. – With Ghio Ong