A controlled delivery operation was carried out in Barangay San Joaquin, Mabalacat, Pampanga, on 19 June, by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) together with the Mabalacat PNP, Clark Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (CRK-IADITG) and PNP AVSEGROUP.

The operation resulted in the arrest of a 28-year-old male consignee of a suspected parcel containing marijuana oil.

Following an inquiry, it was discovered that the package, which was sent from West Hollywood, USA, on 10 June was mistakenly identified as candles. It was sent to a male Filipino consignee who lived in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

During the initial inventory and examination by the BoC-Clark, the duty customs examiner found that the package had 12 canisters of possible marijuana oil. Subsequently, members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Office 3 (PDEA RO3) also conducted an initial field test of the intercepted items, which revealed the presence of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

An initial inventory of the items was conducted and witnessed by a barangay official of Mabalacat City LGU, as well as a representative from the Office of the City Prosecutor of Mabalacat City, Pampanga. Members of the PNP AVSEGROUP and Clark Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group immediately coordinated with Mabalacat City Police Station to conduct a follow-up operation against the parcel’s consignee.