P2.5-billion 'shabu' seized from Chinese man in Makati

2 'couriers' nabbed in separate Las Piñas bust

MANILA—Police early Wednesday seized some P2.5 billion worth of suspected shabu from the Chinese caretaker of a warehouse in Makati City, in what authorities said is one of this year's largest drug hauls. 

The Chinese sold drugs to operatives and tried to evade arrest by running into the warehouse in Barangay San Antonio, where authorities eventually found some 371 kilos of drugs concealed in dog food packaging, police said. 

The drugs were from abroad, said Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa. 

"Hindi sigurado kung ito ay by air, by sea [transported]. But definitely galing ito sa labas," he told radio DZMM. 

(We are not sure if it was transported by air or sea, but definitely this was from outside the country because the way it's stacked shows it was fresh from transport.) 

Authorities are coordinating with the Chinese Embassy in Manila to verify the suspect's identity, he said.

In a separate operation, police also confiscated some 17 kilos of shabu in tea bags from the Chinese man's 2 alleged "couriers," brothers Joel and Merwin Bustamante, at the parking lot of a department store in C-5 Extension, Las Piñas. 

— With reports from Kevin Manalo and Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News