Philippine authorities say they recently seized 146 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine from a warehouse in Malabon, a city in Metro Manila. According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the illegal drugs, worth almost 1 billion pesos (US$19 million), were packed in 114 bags in aluminum pallets that were stored inside the Goldwin Commercial Warehouse, GMA News reported.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said each aluminum pallet had about seven hollow tubes, and three or four of them contained illegal drugs, while the others contained tapioca starch supposedly imported from Cambodia. The BOC added that the tapioca starch in the shipment was used as a ploy.
PDEA director general Aaron Aquino said the drugs came from Cambodia and must have been part of a shipment from a Golden Triangle drug syndicate. Aquino added that the latest bust was connected to shipments seized in Dasmariñas and Tanza in Cavite province in February.
On February 3, 274kg of illegal drugs worth 1.9 billion pesos were confiscated in Tanza. About 10 days later, authorities seized 36kg of drugs worth 244 million pesos in Dasmariñas.