3 nabbed in P314-M drug raid in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - At least 62.7 kilos of shabu were seized from three Chinese during a raid on a “shabu drying station” in Manila Friday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

Ong Tsen Sing (also known as Jackie Lopez Sun and William Luy), Lee Chuan Chiat, and Sy Tian Kok were nabbed at the seventh floor of Cathay Mansions on Mayhaligue street in Tondo.

The shabu, which has a street value of P314 million, was placed in tea bags.

The use of drying stations, according to the NBI, is a new method employed by those smuggling drugs from China to the Philippines.

During the raid the NBI discovered “wet crystalline granules that require further drying” hidden in aluminum foil tea bags.

“The NBI believes that the shabu in aluminum foil tea bags were shipped into the country in this unfinished state and possibly declared as Chinese tea commodities or Chinese medicine,” the NBI added.

Aside from shabu, the raiding team seized humidifiers, a small cloth dyer, drying pans, weighing scales, several plastic containers, vacuum sealers, vacuum packaging machines, unused packaging materials, and tea bags made of aluminum foil, marked with Chinese characters.