Balikbayan boxes yield P238-M worth of ‘kush’

SEIZED Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port agents inspect boxes containing dried marijuana from Thailand. —PHOTO COURTESY OF BOC

MANILA, Philippines — Agents of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) discovered P238.2 million worth of dried marijuana or “kush” in several balikbayan boxes from Thailand during an inspection at the Manila International Container Port last week.

Verne Enciso, director of the bureau’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, said on Tuesday they sought an alert order against a shipment based on “derogatory information” that it contained illegal drugs and other misdeclared and undeclared items.

After it was apprehended, the shipment was inspected from March 3 to 8 by a designated customs examiner with witnesses from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and other government agencies.

Five balikbayan boxes consigned to Gerard Cruz and Erika Cruz were found to contain 126 packages of marijuana with a total weight of 65,000 grams and an estimated value of P78 million, the BOC said.

READ: BOC: P76-M marijuana from Thailand seized

Another five balikbayan boxes for “BKKCHCF SHN” yielded 70,000 grams of marijuana worth around P84 million, the bureau said.

Two more balikbayan boxes consigned to Jonathan Francis Ayala contained 63,500 grams of marijuana worth P76.2 million. The drugs were hidden in food packages and blankets.