BOC, PDEA seized P39 million ‘Kush MJ’ from Canada

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) announced the confiscation of ‘Kush’ Cannabis found hidden inside two ‘Balikbayan’ boxes that arrived from Canada last February 5, worth more than P39 million.

The seizure is the biggest thus far this year of Kush being smuggled into the country by concealing them inside Balikbayan boxes but the fourth incident since last year, based on the reporting of Pinoy Exposé.

Alvin Enciso, chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at the Manila International Container Port (MICP-CIIS), said they earlier received information that a huge shipment of the contraband is headed to the Philippines via Canada hidden in a shipment of “used household goods and personal effects.”

The joint physical inspection by the CIIS and the PDEA led to the discovery of 56 vacuum-sealed plastic pouches of Kush in the first box weighing 14.672 kilos and another 52 vacuum-sealed plastic pouches of Kush weighing 13.624 kilos in the second box.

Based on PDEA’s valuation, the estimated total of 28.30 kilos of the contraband is valued at P39.614 million.

CIIS director Verne Enciso, said the contraband was shipped through the ‘U Mac Forwarders Express Inc.,’ by one ‘Riza Munar’ from Vancouver, Canada, to ‘John Paul de Leon’ of San Mateo, Rizal.

“The physical examination of these boxes leaves no doubt that they shipped illegal drugs in the guise of used household items.

“The amount of marijuana we found will certainly hurt communities we swore to protect,” the CIIS chief said.

In the same month last year, the joint BOC-PDEA team also confiscated 63.6 kilos of Kush hidden in several Balikbayan boxes from Thailand worth P76 million on February 27, 2024 (Pinoy Exposé, March 3, 2024).

Ever alert, the MICP-CIIS also successfully intercepted the second shipment of 21 kilos of Kush from Thailand hidden in balikbayan boxes valued at P29.499 million on April 19,2024 (Pinoy Exposé, April 29,2024).

To date, the biggest haul thus far of Kush seized by the CIIS occurred on March 7, 2024, at the Port of Manila (POM), with the interception of more than 279 kilos of Kush valued at more than P337 million (Pinoy Exposé, March 29, 2024).

Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence (DCI) Juvymax Uy, commended his men for the latest accomplishment.
“The commitment of our BOC officers and personnel to uphold public safety through these successful operations cannot be understated.

They continue to be proactive and thorough, using their expertise, skills, and technology to stop contraband from crossing our borders,” he said.

The BOC added the consignees, senders, and recipients of the shipment will also face charges for violating Section 118 (prohibited importation and exportation) and Section 1400 (misdeclaration) in the goods declaration in relation to Section 1113 (property subject to seizure and forfeiture) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).