P4.2-billion shabu shipment foiled in Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT ZONE, Philippines — Authorities here on Wednesday seized a major shipment of high-grade metamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, one of the biggest hauls so far reported by the government.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza and Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group head Undersecretary Antonio Villar present to the media the illegal drugs seized inside the free port zone.

The foiled shipment was estimated at 720 kilograms with a street value of P4.2 billion.

The operation was conducted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said the drugs were smuggled by a Chinese national identified as Anthony Ang of Hualong International Trading, a free port-registered company engaged in importing and transshipping imported cigarettes.

PASG chief Undersecretary Antonio Villar said that based on documents, the drugs came from Vietnam and were bound to Taiwan via cargo ship F/B Shun Fa Xing.

Investigators are looking into Ang’s operation as part of an international drug syndicate that uses Subic as a distribution center of illegal drugs in Asia-Pacific.

Initial reports indicated that SBMA guards patrolling the seaport compound on Sunday spotted a red Mitsubishi Outlander with license plate RAE- 615 inside the Riviera Pier, and was seen later on parked near a cargo ship.

Several ship crew members were seen loading several boxes into the van which initially appeared as undocumented goods and were intended to be smuggled out of the seaport compound.

Confronted at the sentry point, Ang refused to have the boxes opened and vowed to produce importation documents which he declared as "sensitive" computer parts.

The SBMA then sought the assistance of PASG which later discovered that the 10 boxes contained 80 kilograms of tightly packed high-grade shabu.

Follow-up operations conducted Wednesday resulted in the seizure of more illegal drugs concealed inside the warehouse of Hualong at the Taiwanese Industrial Park, a short distance from the port facilities.

Raiders seized another 600 kilograms from the warehouse, while the remaining 40 kilograms were recovered in a river near the perimeter fence of the industrial park.

Ang is now the subject of manhunt. — Rey Garcia, BusinessWorld