5 men held in Valenzuela drug sting released

MANILA, Philippines - The five men arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in a raid in Valenzuela City on Thursday were released after the seized powdered substance stored in dozens of wooden crates turned out to be a type of detergent.

PDEA said Chinese national Qian Kun Huang and the four others arrested were released yesterday.

PDEA, however, maintained the search conducted at the area in Gen. T. De Leon was lawful, supported by a search warrant.

Sixty-four wooden crates, each containing around 20 kilos of a white powdery substance initially believed to be some form of controlled substance, were seized during the operation.

The agency said laboratory testing conducted on the seized materials were negative for dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals.

PDEA spokesman Glenn Malapad said he received information that the substance appeared to be some type of detergent.

Malapad said the raid on the warehouse was a follow-up operation of a raid last week also in Valenzuela that yielded illegal drugs.