BATANGAS CITY — Authorities confiscated P272 million worth of illegal drugs during an anti-drug inspection at Batangas Port.

Joint operatives from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Batangas, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Seaport Interdiction Unit, and the Coast Guard K9 Unit found the contraband hidden inside four audio speakers unloaded from a private vehicle driven by a 30-year-old resident of Cotabato City. The vehicle had disembarked from a passenger vessel at the port.

PDEA operatives said they noticed the driver’s unusual difficulty in unloading one of the speakers, prompting the PCG K9 team to conduct a paneling check. The check yielded a positive result, and further inspection revealed several boxes of illegal drugs concealed inside the speakers.

The seized items were inventoried and secured before being transported to the PDEA National Headquarters in Quezon City for laboratory examination and proper disposition. The suspect is in PDEA custody and will face charges under existing anti-drug laws.