Philippine police detained a suspected Chinese drug dealer in a northern mountain tourist city Wednesday after seizing over 500 kilograms of alleged methamphetamine hidden in tea bags.
Officials have said that the drug haul in Baguio City was one of the biggest in recent years, with a street value of 4 billion pesos ($74 million), according to AP News.
According to Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and other police officials, a drug cartel hid the alleged drugs in Baguio rather than in metropolitan Manila because of a continuing anti-drugs clampdown in the capital region.
Baguio is a popular tourist hotspot known for its scenic highlands and cold weather. Methamphetamine is commonly known locally as shabu.
The news came as Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared he would break off connection with the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected his petition to halt investigating his predecessor's deadly war on drugs, Al Jazeera reported.
ICC To Probe Deadly Drug War of Rodrigo Duterte
The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, conducted a brutal campaign on illegal drugs, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people, most of whom were low-level sellers and consumers.
Human rights organizations and victims accuse police of deliberate killings and cover-ups of suspects slain in self-defense which the International Criminal Court is investigating.
The Philippines failed to clarify its claim that the probe would have "far-reaching" and adverse effects" on suspects, witnesses, and victims, according to the ICC panel, per ABS-CBN News
The appeals panel said the Philippines may investigate the anti-narcotics operation "irrespective" of the pending procedures of the ICC.
In February, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan rejected the Philippine government's request to suspend the inquiry awaiting the substantive appeal.
He noted that a suspension is only issued if the judgment will create an irrevocable condition, lead to complicated consequences, or defeat the appeal.
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