BOC seizes regulated and prohibited drugs at NAIA

Almost 200,000 tablets of regulated and prohibited drugs were intercepted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

 

The contraband was presented to the public on Thursday. The BOC said it seized 192,206 tablets of various drugs which arrived in parcels in May and July from India and Pakistan.

 

“Declared as Pharmaceutical Drugs and Medicines, and Misoclear Tablets, the parcels were found to contain drugs that are either prohibited or regulated,” the BOC said in a statement.

 

The shipments were considered as prohibited importations and property subject to forfeiture for violating the Tariff and Customs Code.

 

The shipments included Cytotec, Valium, Xolnox, Ritalin, Alprazolam, and Ambin.

 

Cytotec is prohibited by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as it can start labor in pregnant women or induce abortion.

 

The rest of the shipments are considered dangerous drugs under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 or Republic Act No. 9165. Importing these drugs require authorization from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

 

Two of the parcels have already been abandoned and recommended for forfeiture, the BOC said.

 

“Moreover, charges against the consignees of these goods have already been drafted for filing," the BOC added. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News