Photo by: BOC
CLARK, Pampanga — The Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Clark seized 4.14 kilograms of suspected ketamine worth P20.7 million from a shipment arriving from Amsterdam, Netherlands, and declared as a compact ceramic fan.
The shipment, bound for Valenzuela City, was intercepted after the BOC’s X-ray inspection system detected suspicious images, prompting a physical examination that uncovered seven plastic bags containing a white crystalline substance.
Initial spectrometer screening yielded a “Special K” reading, indicating the possible presence of ketamine. Samples were turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for laboratory and confirmatory testing.
Photo by: BOC
The interception was carried out with the PDEA and Clark Inter-Agency Task Force Against Illegal Drugs (CRK-IATFAID), with support from the BOC’s Enforcement and Security Service–Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service and X-Ray Inspection Project.
BOC-Port of Clark District Collector Jairus S. Reyes credited the seizure to the vigilance of Customs personnel and coordination among law enforcement agencies.
The bureau said the operation underscores its intensified border-control measures against the entry of illegal drugs through the country’s ports.