PDEA to probe shabu paraphernalia found at Davao airport

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Davao Region is conducting an investigation at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport after it found items allegedly used for illegal drugs.

Following the discovery of “assorted drug paraphernalia,” PDEA Regional Office 11 officer-in-charge Iav Naravy Duquiatan said they will be reviewing closed-circuit television footage at the airport.

On Friday, October 20, personnel from PDEA’s airport interdiction team and airport police responded to a report that suspected drug paraphernalia had been found inside the male restroom outside the airport’s international arrival area.

Duquiatan said an airport janitor reported the incident after he discovered the items inside a tissue holder.

Found were lighters, a tooter, and a plastic sachet that had traces of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, said Chief Inspector Eugene Balugo.

In April 2016, authorities here arrested a woman after airport security found she was carrying 4 sachets of suspected shabu.

Since 2015, monitoring against illegal drug trafficking has been heightened at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport.

Operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the airport serves direct flights to Singapore, as well as domestic routes to Manila, Cebu, and Zamboanga, among others. – Rappler.com