FILE PHOTO: Personnel of BOC-NAIA place in a bag million-pesos worth of kush or high-grade marijuana which they seized from a parcel at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City in 2020. Photo from BOC
MANILA, Philippines — Complaints have been lodged against the eldest son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla in connection with importing more than P1 million worth of kush or high-grade marijuana.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) spokesperson Derrick Carreon confirmed to INQUIRER.net during a phone interview Friday that complaints have been filed against Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III before the Office of the City Prosecutor-Las Piñas City on Thursday, October 13.
Specifically, Carreon said, the 38-year-old son of Remulla will be facing charges for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
“I do not know of the penalty with regards to the Modernization and Tariff Act because that’s with the Bureau of Customs. On our part, based on the provisions of RA 1965 for violation of Section 4 which is [the] importation of dangerous drugs, the penalty is life imprisonment,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Carreon later added: “That is, assuming he will be convicted. It will still go through the legal process.”
The arrest
Upon receiving a parcel containing about 1 kilo of kush at his residence in BF Resort Village on Tuesday, agents from the PDEA and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group arrested Juanito Jose.
Wednesday saw the start of online murmurs about the drug bust that had resulted in the arrest of a relative of a high-ranking government official. According to PDEA, Remulla was arrested for participating in a “controlled delivery operation” of illegal narcotics, which is against Dangerous Drugs Board laws (DDB).
A controlled delivery means anti-narcotics operatives allow the entry of an illegal package to serve as the basis for the arrest of the recipient.
Investigators located a home at 1524 Hornblend Street in San Diego where investigators believe the item was sent from, which was allegedly owned by Benjamin Huffman.
Recipient information said that it was to be sent to a “Juanito Remulla” at an address in BF Resort Village. Even though he does not live there, police in Parañaque City, where the son of the Justice secretary was arrested, found packages containing the illegal substance.
The “heavy and sedating” effects are typical kush descriptors. Kush hybrids are known to provide a mellow, reflective high that can keep a smoker ensconced in one spot for hours. It is grown in its native South Asia, specifically in the countries of Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Dwarf marijuana plants like Kush are harder for authorities to trace than the more common cannabis plants in the Philippines.
According to the PDEA, the agency first saw this hybrid strain in 2018.
READ: DOJ chief’s son arrested in P1 million marijuana bust
In a handwritten statement Thursday, Justice Secretary Remulla said he “will not intervene in nor influence” the case against his son.
READ: DOJ chief Remulla to let son face consequences for P1.3 million kush importation –
“I will respect the justice system, and I wish my son a path to redemption,” he added. With excerpts from a Philippine Daily Inquirer report
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