Luggage with P19 million shabu abandoned at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — A piece of luggage abandoned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 turned out to contain 2.8 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu when Bureau of Customs (BOC) officers examined it yesterday.

The luggage was sent unaccompanied from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia via Bangkok, Thailand on Philippine Airlines Flight PR 737.

It arrived at the airport on Dec. 24, 2022 and was stored in the Interline Baggage Room pending being claimed by its owner.

BOC-NAIA district collector Yasmin Mapa said BOC officers examined the luggage yesterday after the lapse of the requisite waiting period of three to four months for its registered owner to claim it.

It was Norman Penaflor, a customs x-ray scanner, who noticed the illegal drugs imside the abandoned luggage after screening and alerted drug operatives including members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at the airport.

The luggage contained shabu valued at P19 million as well as clothes, bags and range tools, according to the PDEA.

In Quezon City, Richard Brizo, 45, was arrested in a drug sting in Barangay Apolonio Samson at around 1 a.m. yesterday.

Police seized 50 grams of shabu with a street value of P340,000 from Brizo, one of the most wanted drug suspects of Quezon City Police District Station 1.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Macinas, 47, and her sister Joann, 23, were arrested in another sting in Barangay Tugatog, Malabon at around 3 a.m. yesterday.

The sisters were reportedly caught with P36,920 worth of shabu.

In Makati, Jeffrey dela Cruz, Andy Anthony Quijada and Leonalyn Mananghaya were arrested for illegal gambling on Tuesday night.

Police confiscated P211,000 worth of shabu from Mananghaya and Quijada. – Emmanuel Tupas, Ghio Ong, Marc Jayson Cayabyab