Port Police arrested an outbound passenger on 28 January 2020, at around 6:20 p.m. at the Port of Cagayan de Oro after security guards recovered from her 0.77 grams of suspected dried marijuana and improvised tooter upon inspection in the new Passenger Terminal Building (PTB).

The Port Police seized the following: three (3) pieces heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing alleged dried marijuana leaves; one (1) piece small circular black plastic container containing alleged dried marijuana leaves; and one (1) piece improvised tooter, placed inside an orange tubular container.

According to PPO1 Pam Gladys M. Budiongan, the 22-year old female passenger was intercepted at the entrance of the PTB. The guards on-duty noticed that she suddenly turned around upon seeing that all passengers entering the passenger terminal were frisked upon. Noticing this reaction by the said passenger, the lady guards invited her to the Ballistic Room for further inspection. Thereat, they recovered the abovementioned items from the passenger.

The seized items were forwarded to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-10 Regional Laboratory Office. The suspect was temporarily detained at the Port Police Division. Charges for violation of RA 9165 will be filed against the suspect.

Though the new PTB is equipped with the advanced technology of surveillance cameras, all the Port Police and force multipliers are still maintaining their heightened vigilance not only in the building but also around the ports. Recently, two suspects were nabbed at CDO Port for qualified theft.— by IMR Lam

(Read:  Suspects of Qualified Theft nab at CDO Port; Security Guard lauded for vigilance)