MANILA: The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said at least 95 grams of unlabelled pills of ecstasy worth P378,000 from Germany were recently seized from a postal services firm in Parañaque City.
BOC Deputy Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said the package was declared to be that of cosmetics items but the contents turned out to be 252 pills when it was opened.
The BOC anti-illegal drugs task force subjected the pills to qualitative examination and the initial tests showed that they are identical to ecstasy.
“The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confirmed the positive result on the presence of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) with those pills, locally known as ecstasy,” the bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
The consignee, identified in media reports as Jesus Galahad Rumbaua, was arrested for violation of the law on illegal drugs.
“The Bureau of Customs condemns the transportation of illegal and unregulated drugs using various parcel systems. This is a particularly popular method of transport because it is relatively safe and inexpensive, but the BOC will apply the full force of the law when proven guilty,” Nepomuceno said.
The official warned that the BOC continues to clamp down on large- and small-scale drug trafficking methods through close partnership with national and local enforcement agencies to conduct joint operations, including controlled deliveries.
