P11.5 million shabu found in closed NAIA restaurant

MANILA, Philippines — Construction workers found P1.7 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu valued at P11.5 million as they were demolishing a restaurant at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) at past midnight yesterday.

The shabu was found in a grease trap under the kitchen sink of the former Hari-raya restaurant, which was closed during the height of the COVID pandemic, on the fourth level of NAIA-1.

The restaurant is in the vicinity of a former spa where workers also found 3.18 kilos of shabu with a street value of P21.6 million last Dec. 15, 2023.

The workers reported their find to the police Aviation Security Group and airport security personnel on duty.

The police then called on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the NAIA-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group for proper investigation and disposition of the shabu.

An airport official, who asked not to be named, said the shabu may have been brought in by a transiting passenger conniving with an airport employee who has access to the restaurant kitchen. The employee may then pass the shabu on to another departing passenger.

Shabu from other countries is of much higher quality – and is priced much higher – than shabu manufactured locally, according to the official.

“Maybe the shabu is intended to be shipped to European countries,” the airport official said.

Anti-drug agencies are conducting investigations and gathering information from the construction workers and former restaurant employees.