No shabu chemical on Vietnamese vessel held in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY , Philippines  – The crystalline substance found in the imported rice shipment consigned to the National Food Authority in Negros Occidental has tested negative for ephedrine, a primary chemical used in making shabu.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) took samples to its laboratory in Manila on Thursday after a worker of the NFA provincial office found a sack full of a dubious white substance while he was unloading the rice shipment at the agency’s warehouse here, PDEA regional head Paul Ledesma said.

Further inspection of the Vietnamese vessel M/V Trai Thien 66 led to the discovery of 48 more sacks of the same substance among the 70,000 sacks of imported rice.

Laboratory tests, however, showed that the substance was N-methylephedrine, which is not included in the list of dangerous illegal drugs, PDEA deputy regional head Ronnie Delicana said.

With this development, Delicana said his agency could no longer handle the case.

However, the 2,551-gross-ton M/V Trai Thien 66 and its crew are not yet off the hook after the PDEA said it would urge the Bureau of Customs to test all the sacks to make sure that none of them contain illegal substances. 

The ship has been held at the Bredco port here.

Customs official Julius Primedeles said the shipping agent may still be held liable for possible violation of the Customs and Tariff Code due to “misdeclaration” of the shipment.

For his part, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said he has issued a warrant of seizure and detention for the shipment, with the NFA and his agency conducting a joint probe.

“The vessel was supposed to have been loaded with rice, but during the investigation it appeared it contained several sacks of fertilizer. We also want to know why the fertilizer was placed in sacks marked as ‘rice,’” he said.

While N-methylephedrine is not a dangerous drug or a precursor for illegal drugs, “when subjected to a process, (it) can result in the separation of N-methyl and ephedrine, the latter which is being used in the production of shabu,” Delicana said.

The incident revived speculations on the existence of a shabu laboratory in Negros Occidental. – With Evelyn Macairan and Marianne Go