By Ariel Fernandez

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Customs District Collector Carmelita “Mimel” Talusan recently lauded her team members for their achievements in 2019, among them the seizures of smuggled drugs, weapons, and protected wildlife.

Talusan congratulated the Customs personnel at the airport for “your vigilance in protecting our border and in providing better government service.”

“We have a total of 61 drugs seizures made by our hardworking team from 2018 to 2019, and 31 of that was for year 2019 alone,” she said.

“We saved 3,084 wildlife species from the illegal wildlife trade, and in our efforts to prevent the entry of African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak into the country, we intercepted more than 42,000 kilos of meat without FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and Bureau of Animal Industry clearances.”

Talusan added that her team also forfeited two aircraft and intercepted 10 pistols, 97 firearms parts, and an unspecified amount of live ammunition.

Talusan added that she is proud of their achievements in 2019, and encouraged NAIA customs employees to work toward notching more impressive accomplishments this year.