Customs chief virtually admits lifters contained illegal drugs

October 24, 2018

Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña backtracked during a joint congressional inquiry on Wednesday, admitting four magnetic lifters found in a warehouse in Cavite last August could have contained shabu. “With what's going on now, the circumstantial evidence and the testimonies as an investigator will tend to believe that indeed there is something there, sir, we believe that,” Lapeña responded to the questions of Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop during a resumption of the joint House committees on dangerous drugs and on good government and public accountability chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers and Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo. Lapeña said there are questions behind emptied magnetic lifters and these are supposed to contain other cargoes. “That’s designed to contain certain cargoes,” said Lapeña. “With this development, I will tend to believe that indeed there was a content that has been peddled by this group, by this drugs system,” Lapeña added. Barbers sought a demo of magnetic lifters with shabu and without the banned substance to see its features in X-ray images. Last August 9, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) discovered four magnetic lifters suspected to contain shabu at a warehouse at Lot 1-18, CRS Subdivision, Barangay F. Reyes in GMA, Cavite. PDEA Deputy Director General Ismael Fajardo Jr told a House hearing on August 14 the discovery stemmed from the investigation of around  500 kilograms of shabu concealed inside a magnetic lifter that was intercepted by combined operatives of the PDEA, Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), North Harbor, Manila on August 7. The street value of the recovered shabu is estimated at P6.8 billion. DMS