SMUGGLING IS RAMPANT - CUSTOMS

BUREAU of Customs (BoC) officials admitted that the smuggling of shabu
and other drugs into the country remains rampant.

Customs enforcement and security service chief Nestorio Gualberto told
Standard Today that shabu coming from so-called high-risk countries
such as China is rampant.

Gualberto explained that aside from China, other high-risk countries
include Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Thailand and several African countries
where the use and distribution of heroin and opiate are widespread.

Because of this, Malacanang has ordered the BoC to intensify its
campaign against drug smuggling following reports that the United
States State Department tagged the Philippines "drug smuggler's paradise."

According to BoC legal service director Reynaldo Umali, however, the
agency is doing its best to curb the illegal entry of drugs and other
shipments.

In an attempt to stress his point, Umali said: "Customs personnel
based at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport intercepted more than
10 kilos of shabu smuggled from China last year."

Umali said the suspected smuggler, identified as a certain Hirawati
Ng, a Chinese national, was convicted for the offense. "The witness in
this case is none other than the wife of our commissioner."

Also last year, Customs personnel seized six kilos of Ecstasy pills
worth P10 million. The cargo arrived in the country through a Kuwait
Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand.

Umali said the bureau's Task Group on Dangerous Drugs and Controlled
Chemicals is taking the lead in the antidrug campaign. The group is
mandated to identify individuals and front companies involved in drug
smuggling.

For his part, acting Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said his
personnel are under a heightened alert status and are closely
monitoring all shipments and cargo coming from these high-risk
countries after the bureau received an intelligence report stipulating
that a drug syndicate is attempting to bring in large shipment of
drugs in the guise of candles.

Morales said all cargo and baggage coming from these countries will be
placed under surveillance. He assured that smuggling will be prevented
since the agency is equipped with advanced detection systems.