TWO ‘Balik-Bayan’ boxes containing a total of 20 kilograms of the high-grade marijuana derivative called Kush worth at least P30 million were seized by agents of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group on Friday, the head of the unit reported to PNP chief, General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil yesterday.

PNP-DEG director, Brigadier Gen. Eleazar P. Matta said the boxes that came from Scarborough, Canada were consigned to a resident of Norzagaray, Bulacan who is still being tracked down as of press time.

The official said that two warehouse managers of Umac Forwarders Express, Inc. with office in Marikina City personally appeared to the office of the PNP-DEG Special Operations Unit-National Capital Region in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City to report the presence of the contraband.

A team of PNP-DEG SOU-NCR officers led by Lieutenant Ryan Dizon, joined by representatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and local barangay officials conducted a physical search and inventory of the two boxes, each found containing 10 kilograms of Kush worth P15 million.

The drugs were found in 40 pieces of heat-sealed plastic sachets which were mixed with various household materials including assorted clothes, granulated sugar, over a dozen cans of spaghetti, salt, crisp corn and beans, and white rice.

The seized contraband was placed under the safekeeping of the PNP Southern Police District Forensic Unit for quantitative and qualitative examination.

Brig. Gen. Matta said the recovery of the smuggled drugs was the latest product of a memorandum of agreement they signed with cargo forwarders to arrest drug smuggling in the country.

He added that the DEG SOU-NCR headed by Colonel Darwin S. Miranda will be preparing the appropriate charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against the suspects in the foiled drug smuggling attempt.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon