DRUGS SMUGGLED IN FROM CHINA THRU T-SHIRT, RTW SHIPMENTS?

Are drugs now being smuggled into the Philippines from China through
shipments of low-cost T-shirts and ready-to-wear garments?

The question was raised by Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday after noting
that container vans containing cheap garments are released in exchange
for P150,000 per container van.

"My suspicion is that drugs or drug ingredients are being smuggled in
through the container vans, with the shirts and garments being used as
fronts," Lacson said.

Recent findings by anti-drug police operatives showed that Chinese
drug rings mixed their merchandise with shipments of furniture and
foodstuff to avoid detection by lawmen.

Lacson said the chances of the drugs getting through Customs are big
because inspectors have become lax, especially after some of them
receive bribes.

He said this laxity could be one reason why the Philippines was
recently tagged as one of the top trans-shipment points for drugs in a
report of the United Nations.

Lacson said that, under his watch, the PNP relied on the
community-based Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council to identify known
drug users and pushers in the area.

Once every month, he said, the PNP conducted week-long operations to
flush out and arrest drug pushers in the area.

The monthly operation forced many neighborhood drug pushers to either
stop their practice or move their operations elsewhere, he said.

"It was our strategy before and it worked well for us at that time.
Now the police say they confiscate tens of thousands of tons. But that
would only mean the drugs they seized got through the piers," he added.