BOC seizes P100-M regulated drugs at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has seized P100 million worth of regulated and prohibited medicine sent from Pakistan and India and unclaimed for the past several months at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), an official said yesterday.

The shipments, packed in 18 boxes, consisted of 100,000 200-milligram tablets of Cytotec (generic name misoprostol); 31,014 10-mg tablets of Valium (diazepam, an anti-anxiety drug); 27,000 tablets of Xolnox (zolpidem, a sedative); 24,000 tablets of Ritalin (methylphenidate, used to treat attention deficit disorder); 27,492 tablets of alprazolam (another anti-anxiety drug); and 7,000 10-mg tablets of Ambien (another brand name for zolpidem), according to NAIA district collector Edgar Macabeo, who presented the medicine to BOC Commissioner Alberto Lina.  

Cytotec is a drug intended to prevent and treat stomach ulcers but can also act as an abortifacient. It has been banned in the country for the past several years.

The other drugs in the shipments are classified as dangerous drugs under Republic Act 9165 and consignees would need an import permit from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, officials said.

Macabeo said the shipments arrived in May and July and consigned to Jimmy Carter, Richo Marketing and Joey Requengco.

No one has come forward to claim the shipments.