BoC intercepts high-grade marijuana

Bureau of Customs (BoC) personnel at the Port of Clark have intercepted four shipments containing marijuana resin and high-grade marijuana, locally known as “kush,” with a combined estimated value of P10.15 million.

The operations, conducted in coordination with the Clark Inter-Agency Task Force Against Illegal Drugs, were launched after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) provided intelligence that flagged the incoming cargo.

Two of the shipments arrived from California on 1 July and were bound for Caloocan and Valenzuela. The cargo, declared as a “custom printed wedding photo” and “letter notebook,” underwent physical examination on 3 July.

Customs officers discovered two pouches of suspected marijuana resin in each shipment, weighing a combined 1,618 grams and valued at an estimated P2.427 million.

The two other shipments arrived from Thailand on 3 July and were addressed to a single consignee in Taguig. Declared as “used clothing,” a physical inspection on 6 July revealed four plastic bags in each shipment containing suspected kush.

The seized drugs weighed a combined 5,142 grams, with an estimated value of P7.723 million.

Customs officials subjected all four shipments to standard clearance procedures, including X-ray scanning and K-9 inspections, which initially flagged the packages. A spectrometer test later confirmed the presence of cannabinoids, and samples were turned over to the PDEA for laboratory analysis.