By Ferdinand Patinio | Philippine News Agency
Government authorities arrested the consignee of a parcel containing kush, or high-grade marijuana, with an estimated street value of P1.4 million at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City on Dec. 10, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported Monday.
District Collector Yasmin Mapa said agents of the BOC – Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Force found the illegal drugs inside a parcel declared as “clothes” originating from Thailand.
The 1,002-gram kush was discovered after rigorous profiling by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), screening by the X-Ray Inspection Project, K9 inspection, and physical examination.
Mapa said the consignee and the confiscated illegal drugs were turned over to PDEA for inquest proceedings for violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 9165 (the amended Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) and RA 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act).
She said the BOC-NAIA would continue to secure the country’s borders and prevent the smuggling of illegal substances that endanger public safety.
BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the operation “highlights the critical role of inter-agency collaboration in protecting our nation from the threat of illegal drugs.”