PDEA seeks courier firms’ help in fight vs. illegal drugs

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte to be the “sole agency” which will be in charge of all anti-drug operations of the administration. (ROLANDO MAILO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA— To strengthen the security measures to intercept illegal drugs smuggled using mail and parcel system, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) recently met with local-based foreign express delivery and domestic courier services.

PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino arranged the meeting last Friday after the recent seizures of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, cocaine, and ecstasy that were discovered concealed inside packages entering the country.

“The presence of officials of international and domestic delivery express providers shows their willingness to help address the rising incidences involving mail and parcel service as a mode of trafficking dangerous drugs, “Aquino said in a statement.

Among the matters discussed were the different screening procedures to detect illegal drugs being implemented by each courier company, in particular, the use of narcotic detection dogs (NDDs) and X-rays on suspicious packages.

“PDEA also requested them to provide the agency a small and secured room to inspect suspected parcels containing dangerous drugs. This would prevent possible security breaches and inside job,” Aquino added.

Aquino said that drug syndicates always find ways to conveniently transport illegal drugs, including the use of mail and parcel courier service. “They believed that the safest way to move illegal drugs covertly is through the mail because detection is much lower due to anonymity and use of fictitious names to mislead authorities. The absence of human contact in transporting dangerous drugs makes it nearly impossible to identify its owner,” he explained.

“PDEA remains vigilant to ensure that packages containing illegal drugs are intercepted,” the PDEA chief said, adding that PDEA encourages the full participation of the courier service providers in future interdiction operations.

PDEA regularly conducts random K9 sweeping and parcel screening on all cargo terminals nationwide. These led to the successful conduct of 102 mail and parcel interdiction operations and seizure of millions of pesos worth of illegal drugs and the arrests of consignees since 2013.

PDEA is expected to acquire an additional 100 NDDs in 2018 with training worth PHP500,000 for each dog. Currently, the PDEA K9-unit has 52 NDDs and 57 handlers in 17 regions nationwide.