THREE persons were arrested at a Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) warehouse on Jan. 9, 2026, after attempting to claim parcels containing P114.56 million worth of suspected shabu. Port of NAIA District Collector Yasmin Mapa said the operation led to the discovery of 16,848 grams of the illegal substance. The contraband was packed in transparent plastic bags and further concealed inside several green figurines across four boxes. The interception was a coordinated effort between the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and several law enforcement units including the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group, Intelligence personnel for the Aviation Security Unit (NCR), and the Cargo Police Station. Authorities reported that the shipment, which arrived on Jan. 6, 2026, was sent by a certain “Marius” from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The parcels were flagged during routine X-ray screening and manual inspection by the BOC, followed by a positive K-9 alert from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. The three suspects, who were apprehended while claiming the parcels, have been turned over to the PDEA National Office. “Entering the new year, airport security operations are being intensified, with strengthened inter-agency coordination and relentless intelligence-driven actions to dismantle drug networks and block any attempt to exploit airport facilities,” said Aviation Security Group chief BGen. Dionisio Bartolome Jr.