MANILA, Philippines — Imbis na hooded sweatshirt, milyun-milyong halagang “good items” pala ang pakay tanggapin ng isang suspek mula Antipolo, Rizal matapos mabisto sa operasyon ng gobyerno kamakailan.
Ayon sa ulat ng Bureau of Customs (BuCor) ngayong Miyerkules, sinabing inaresto ang isang 23-anyos na consignee ng 1,900 gramo ng high-grade marijuana o “kush” na ikinubli sa isang jacket. Nagkakahalaga ito ng P3.135 milyon.
“Upon receiving derogatory information from [Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency], the shipment declared as ‘hooded sweatshirt,’ which arrived on May 9, 2024, was immediately subjected to x-ray scanning and K9 sniffing. Both inspections indicated possible presence of illegal drugs,” ayon sa BuCor kanina.
“Physical examination led to the di scovery of four (4) pouches of dried leaves and fruiting tops suspected to be High-Grade Marijuana or ‘Kush.’ The said pouches were found concealed in hooded sweatshirts.”
Dinala ang specimen samples ng tuyong dahon at fruiting tops sa PDEA para sa chemical laboratory analysis. Dito na nakumpirmang marijuana ang mga naturang substances, isang ipinagababawal na gamot sa ilalim ng Republic Act 9165 o “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002”.
Dahil dito, nag-isyu ng warrant of seizure and detention laban sa naturang shipment si District Collector Erastus Sandino Austria para sa paglabag sa Section 118 (g), 119 (d), at 1113 par. f, I, at l (3 and 4) ng R.A. No. 10863 o Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) kaugnay ng R.A. 9165.
“Controlled delivery operations by the operatives of BOC-Clark and PDEA in Antipolo, Rizal resulted to the arrest of a 23-year-old male claimant,” dagdag pa ng Customs.
“The arrested claimant was detained by PDEA Region III for filing of appropriate charges under R.A. No. 9165, as amended.”
Ang operasyon ay sinasabing ikinasa ng Pork of Clark sa pakikipagtulungan ng PDEA, Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force (CAIDTF), X-ray Inspection Project (XIP) , Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) at Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS).
Pinasalamatan naman ni Austria ang CAIDTF, ESS, CIIS, XIP, at Customs Examiner sa kanilang pagmamatyag. Idiniin din niya ang halaga ng inter-agency cooperation sa PDEA, pinatinding personnel profiling at modernong BOC technologies sa pagkakaharang ng droga.
Ipinangako naman ni Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio na ipagpapatuloy ng BOC ang “pro-active” coordination sa government enforcement agencies para matiyak ang agarang detection at prevention ng iligal na droga sa bansa.
HONG KONG, China — Asian markets wobbled Wednesday ahead of key US inflation data later in the day, with traders struggling to pick up the baton after a record performance on Wall Street.
A report showing a forecast-beating rise in April wholesale prices was offset by a downward revision for the previous month, while analysts said a deeper look at the figures suggested the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation could ease further.
Investors were also digesting a warning from the central bank’s boss that the battle against prices was proving tougher than expected and indicated interest rates could remain elevated for some time.
There was also some nervousness on trading floors after Beijing hit out at Washington’s decision to impose steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports such as electric vehicles and semiconductors.
The commerce ministry said the decision would “severely affect the atmosphere for bilateral cooperation”.
But all focus is on the release later Wednesday of the consumer price index (CPI), which will likely play a key role in the Fed’s decision on when to start cutting interest rates, if at all this year.
The report follows readings that came in above expectations in the first three months of the year, denting hopes for a reduction in borrowing costs.
However, the data is forecast to show prices slowing down again.
“Investors are expecting inflation to fall in April,” Ameriprise’s Anthony Saglimbene said.
“Even if the decline is slight, markets are looking for further evidence that the downward trend in inflation remains intact and, importantly, is not in the process of reversing course higher.”
A sense of optimism on Wall Street pushed all three main indexes higher, with the Nasdaq hitting a new record and the S&P 500 coming within a whisker of its own all-time peak.
Asia was mixed, with Tokyo, Sydney, Taipei and Jakarta rising but Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila falling. Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for holidays.
In Europe, London, Paris and Frankfurt all opened higher.
The CPI release comes after Fed chief Jerome Powell said readings at the start of the year had lowered his level of confidence that price rises would slow back down towards officials’ long-term target.
“The first quarter in the United States was notable for its lack of further progress on inflation,” he said. “We did not expect this to be a smooth road, but these were higher than I think anybody expected.
“And so what that has told us is we’ll need to be patient and let restrictive policy do its work.”
However, he added that he did not expect the Fed would need to hike rates.
Also Tuesday, Kansas City Fed chief Jeffrey Schmid warned rates could stay high “for some time” and that he was “prepared to be patient as this process plays out”.
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 38,385.73 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,119.90 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,470.02
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.31 yen from 156.40 yen
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0828 from $1.0819 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2594 from $1.2590
Euro/pound: UP at 85.99 from 85.92 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $78.55 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $82.88 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 39,558.11 (close)
—Bloomberg News contributed to this story