MANILA, May 2 (PIA)--An online drug dealing activity was recently uncovered by combined operatives of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Intelligence Group, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in cooperation with the Investigation and Inspection Division of PHILPOST following the arrest of a suspected big-time supplier and distributor of “Ecstasy”.
The suspect, identified as Prabhjot Singh Gill, was arrested following a buy-bust operation at his condominium unit along Taft Avenue in Manila.
During the interrogation, Gill has revealed that drug traders are taking advantage of the internet and online selling sites to do their activities.
Based on solid information from a confidential informant that was subsequently verified during Gill’s interrogation, it was revealed that he purchased 500 tablets of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, otherwise known as “Ecstasy” from an online black market website which he paid for using peer-to-peer online payment service BitCoin and had sent to the Philippines through mail parcel from the Netherlands.
The parcel containing the tablets was seized by the BOC last April 2, 2014 and was confirmed by PDEA to be “Ecstasy.” The pills have a street value of P1,500 each, bringing the value of the haul to P750,000.
Also known as “E,” the drug is part of a growing local trend among young, affluent men and women and is known to cause relaxation and exhilaration.
An overdose can cause users to die from stroke, heart attack or high body temperature, while long-term effects include brain damage, liver damage, psychosis and depression.
Last February, six sacks of regulated drugs, including anti-anxiety drugs Ativan (lorazepam) and Valium (diazepam) were seized at the Philippine Postal Service’s Central Mail Distribution Center in Pasay.
The shipment, which was declared as used clothing and shoes, was consigned to Winnie Ramos of Marikina City and shipped by Faham Jamal of the Department of Sciences in Islamabad, Pakistan.
In a statement, Charo Logarta Lagamon, Chief of the Public Information and Assistance Division of the Bureau of Customs said the fight against the dealing and selling of illegal drugs has gone digital as players in the illegal drug trade use the anonymity of e-commerce to sell, purchase and send drugs to and from virtually anywhere in the world.
“We believe that drug traffickers are experimenting with various routes and modes of sending and delivery to see if these are viable for drug smuggling,” Lagamon said. (BOC/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
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