SHABU IN DRUG DEN LIKELY SMUGGLED

The Bureau of Customs is looking into the possibility that the shabu
found inside the raided drug den in Pasig City on Friday were smuggled.

"The drugs could have been smuggled from China or Hong Kong," said a
ranking Customs official who refused to be named. "Members of the
Triad could be the people behind this."

Police arrested over 300 people in the raid and seized two kg of shabu
worth P4 million, two pistols, and sacks of drug-user equipment
including tooters, aluminum foil and disposable lighters.

Officials sacked six members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
and seven policemen assigned to the precinct near the drug den. At
least 25 policemen have been sacked as a result of the raid.

The Pasig City government has also filed charges against the barangay
chairman with jurisdiction over the site of the den.

Yesterday, Acting Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales ordered the
revival of the bureau's antinarcotics team and told all district
collectors to watch the country's 15 international ports more closely
to stop smugglers.

Morales said the Task Group on Dangerous Drugs and Controlled
Chemicals was taking the lead in the antidrug campaign.