China is the main source of methamphetamine consumed in the Philippines
Philippine authorities said they seized 605 kilograms of methamphetamine shipped from China following a tip from the Chinese government. National Bureau of Investigation officials said Monday that the drugs, with a street value of 6.05 billion pesos ($121.4 million) , were seized over the weekend from a brokerage warehouse in metropolitan Manila, while a portion was intercepted from a shipment consignee. The operation was jointly conducted with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, police and the Bureau of Customs, which alerted the NBI on information from China’s Office of National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) about a large shipment of illegal drugs. According to the NNCC, police in southeast China’s Fujian Province and anti-trafficking authorities of Xiamen city arrested 12 suspects in a raid on May 12. Investigations revealed on May 25 that two of the suspects, identified by the NNCC only by their surnames Chen and Li, had hid the drugs in cylindrical roller printers that had already been cleared by Philippine customs. Philippine law enforcement seized the drugs the next day, Xinhua reported “This is a good sign of cooperation not only of the different agencies under the present administration but also the international community, ” NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin said at a news conference.
