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The Bureau of Customs, working with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Philippine National Police, intercepted approximately 200 kilograms of suspected shabu worth P1.36 billion at the Manila International Container Port
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The illegal drugs were concealed among stacks of cartons inside a 40-foot container
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The shipment originated in Lao PDR, passed through Haiphong, Vietnam, and was routed through Hong Kong before arriving in the Philippines
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Investigation is underway on the shipment’s consignee, origin, and other individuals involved in the attempted smuggling
The Bureau of Customs (BOC), in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Philippine National Police (PNP), intercepted approximately 200 kilograms of suspected shabu valued at P1.36 billion at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
The suspected illegal drugs were concealed among stacks of cartons inside a 40-foot container, the BOC reported.
DILG secretary Jonvic Remulla said the seizure resulted from inter-agency cooperation and intelligence sharing among member countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Remulla commended the BOC, PDEA, PNP and other agencies involved in the operation, stressing that their work should extend beyond the seizure to identifying the shipment’s origin and investigating those responsible for sending and receiving the cargo.
Intelligence from Vietnam
PDEA assistant secretary Renato Gumban said the agency received intelligence from Vietnam’s Anti-Narcotics Police Department regarding a shipment suspected of containing shabu.
Information shared with the PDEA indicated that the cargo originated in Laos.
The shipment passed through Haiphong, Vietnam, before being transported to Hong Kong, where the container was transferred to another vessel bound for the Philippines.
Vietnamese authorities alerted their PDEA counterparts after the vessel departed Haiphong, allowing the PDEA Intelligence Service to promptly relay the information to the BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service.
The intelligence enabled the BOC to monitor the shipment before it arrived in the Philippines.
Customs officers subjected the container to X-ray scanning, followed by a physical examination that uncovered 50 boxes containing four packs of suspected shabu each. Initial field tests on the seized substances yielded positive results for methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as shabu.
Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, Remulla, Gumban, and PNP Lieutenant General Neri Vincent Ignacio personally inspected the seized suspected drugs.
Ignacio said the PNP would continue coordinating with the PDEA and BOC on the succeeding actions, particularly the investigation.
Authorities are now identifying the consignee of the shipment, with the PDEA and PNP working together to pursue the investigation.
The BOC is also coordinating with the PNP Drug Enforcement Group to trace the shipment’s route, establish its origin, and identify other individuals who may have been involved in the attempted smuggling.
Anti-drug operations since 2025
For 2025 and 2026, the BOC recorded 520 anti-illegal drug operations involving seizures valued at a combined P11.294 billion.
The bureau also filed seven drug-related cases against 10 individuals during the period. Meanwhile, 10 accused have been convicted in two drug-related cases.
“We continue to follow President (Ferdinand) Marcos’s directive to keep our streets safe from illegal drugs. Our strategy is to monitor areas where these drugs could enter. Customs’ role is not limited to collecting revenue to fund government operations. One of our responsibilities is also to work with the PNP, NBI, PDEA, and other agencies to keep our communities safe from the entry of illegal drugs,” Nepomuceno said in a statement in Filipino.
Following the President’s directive, the MICP, led by district collector Atty. Felipe Geoffrey De Vera IV, is tightening shipment inspections and speeding intelligence-sharing with partner agencies to stop illegal drugs before they reach local communities.
