Pot of gold: BOC finds P80 million worth of smuggled gold jewelry in airplane toilet
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) found P80 million worth of assorted gold jewelry hidden inside an airplane lavatory during a routine inspection.
The golden jewelry, which weighs 24 kg, was discovered on aircraft Philippine Airlines (PAL) PR 301, which departed from Hongkong and arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 on Nov. 17.
Customs boarding inspectors from the Aircraft Operations division came across them as they were doing boarding formalities.
BOC-NAIA district collector Carmelita Talusan said an investigation has been ordered to identify the persons responsible for the smuggling attempt.
Talusan assured the BOC-Port of NAIA that they would implement stringent border security measures. "This is aligned with the orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to stop smuggling in the country," she said.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna added that the company would cooperate with authorities amid the probe.
"PAL continues to cooperate with the Philippine National Police and the BOC to ensure an orderly and thorough probe. Rest assured, the investigation is underway to ferret out the truth behind this incident," Villaluna said.