Some P23.5 million worth of “Ecstasy” party drugs were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Central Mail Exchange Center warehouse in Pasay City on Monday.
Seven packages containing a total of 13,824 tablets of Ecstasy, or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine were discovered in different parcels with “different consignees,” Customs said.
According to the bureau, the drugs were concealed in toys and coffee wrappers from the Netherlands and Belgium and were misdeclared as “Caffe Gondoliere Espresso Beans, Caffe Gondoliere Creme Bonen,” “Gondoliere Coffee (Arabica),” “Granulaat,” “Snoepjes,” “Coffee DE (Espresso),” “DE Coffee (Aroma Red) (Mocca),” and “Fishing Bath, Energy Saving LED Light, Pillow for Kids, Disney Pixar – The Secret Life of Pets.”
“Upon physical examination by BOC-NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Customs Examiners, tablets in different colors of ‘Party Drugs’ or Ecstacy concealed in ‘toys’ and different wrappers of ‘coffee’ were found,” BOC said.
The illegal drugs were transferred to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, which will conduct an investigation, the bureau said.
Those responsible for smuggling the drugs face charges for violating the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in relation to Section 1401 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, Customs said. Ma. Veracel A. Martinez