Philippine anti-smuggling operatives seized
hundreds of kilograms of high-grade amphetamines in a northern Philippine free
port, a senior official said Wednesday, reported dpa.
Antonio Villar, chief of a presidential anti-smuggling task force, said 710
kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride were seized during a two-day operation
inside the Subic Bay Freeport in Subic town in Zambales province, 105 kilometres north of Manila.
Operatives recovered more than 100 kilos of the drug, locally known as shabu,
on Tuesday night inside a vehicle of a Chinese businessman, Villar said.
The suspect, however, was able to flee arrest.
During a follow-up operation at the warehouse of the suspect inside the free
port on Wednesday, Villar said his operatives recovered 600 more kilos of shabu
placed inside a van.
Drug abuse remains a major social and peace-and-order problem in the Philippines, where an estimated 3.4 million people are hooked on narcotics or use an
illegal substance occasionally.