BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — A drug-sniffing Belgian Malinois of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency intercepted around a quarter of a million worth of shabu that had been hidden in a Bluetooth speaker and shipped to Baguio City.
The seizure was made after anti-narcotics agents of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit of the Cordillera police were tipped off to a new mode of transporting drugs to the City of Pines.
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Operatives staked out at the forwarding-shipping hub for three days to monitor who would claim portable speaker that had been packed and placed in a black bag, Police Lt. Col. Nicomedes Olarte of RDEU-Cordillera said.
Olarte said drug syndicates around the country are now using fast-mail shipping and forwarding firms to transport in illicit items, especially drugs, prompting authorities to be on alert for suspicious shipments.
The suspect, whose identity has been withheld pending results of an ongoing investigation, told reporters he only picked up the package because his wife asked him to claim ot on behalf of his brother-in-law in Bulacan. He said he did not know that the package contained 50.9 grams of shabu, which authorities estimate to be worth P350,000.
Charges are being readied against the suspect, who has indicated he will work with authorities to help clear his name.