Bureau of Customs (BOC) | FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Packs containing kush or dried marijuana leaves, this time worth P238.2 million, were found inside balikbayan boxes from Thailand, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
According to Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Verne Enciso, they requested for the issuance of an alert order against the balikbayan boxes because they received derogatory information that the package contained an illicit substance.
Enciso said that the prompt response of the Office of the District Collector (ODC) allowed them to stop the shipment.
“With the prompt response of the Office of the District Collector (ODC), we were able to apprehend the shipment and process it for a thorough examination,” Enciso said in a statement.
“We then found hundreds of kilos of marijuana in a shipment originally declared to be consolidated balikbayan boxes and personal effects,” he added.
The BOC said five of the balikbayan boxes were supposedly consigned to a certain Gerard Cruz and Erika Cruz, and had 126 packages of marijuana — said to have a total weight of 65,000 grams and an estimated street value of P78 million.
Another five balikbayan boxes were consigned to BKKCHCF SHN. It contained 138 packages of marijuana, weighing 70,000 grams, and was said to be worth around P84 million.
The remaining balikbayan boxes were found also with marijuana weighing 63,500 grams and worth P76.2 million concealed in food packages and blankets. These were allegedly consigned to a certain Jonathan and Francis Ayala.
Intelligence Group Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy said that the boxes of marijuana were brought back inside the container, which was then padlocked and sealed.
Physical examination of the shipment was conducted from March 3 to 8 by the assigned Customs examiner, and was witnessed by different offices within BOC and other anti-drug enforcement units.
The BOC will secure the containers until they are turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
“While these groups and individuals regularly come up with an array of concealment methods to smuggle dangerous drugs into our country, the work shown by our agents this past week is one of the many reasons why they will not succeed,” Uy said.
On February 28, BOC also found marijuana in different balikbayan boxes, which also came in from Thailand. A total of 12 kilograms of kush were discovered inside the shipment was consigned to Marcelo D. Laylo Cargo Forwarders, and was sent to an individual from Cavite.
READ: BOC: P76-M marijuana from Thailand seized
BOC Commissioner Bien Rubio said the operation was made possible by the cooperation of key government agencies and the BOC’s sources.
“Our partnerships with government agencies, as well as the relationships we have forged with our sources, are crucial to stopping the illicit flow of narcotics before they reach our streets,” Rubio said.
“I want to reassure the public that our BOC officers will remain vigilant against smuggling attempts and dedicated in disrupting the flow of illegal drugs from entering our country and reaching our communities,” he added.