Two claimants of an air parcel containing P600,000 worth of kush marijuana were arrested on January 9 in a controlled delivery operation in Batangas jointly implemented by the Bureau of Customs NAIA, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG).
The suspects were identified as Van Joshua Magpantay and Johnyengle Hernandez who were nabbed in a vape shop in Lipa City, Batangas by the authorities from BOC NAIA, PDEA and IADTF .
The parcel arrived thru Fedex Pasay City and was sent by a certain Nina Manual from California, USA. It was misdeclared as "musical instruments" and consigned to a certain "Dimitria Escalona" of Batangas.
The parcel was subjected to x-ray scanning and physical examination of BOC and PDEA personnel and was verified to contain two vacuum sealed transparent plastic bags containing a total of 500 grams of dried leaves later identified as high-grade marijuana, also known as kush.
The apprehended claimants and seized dangerous drugs are now under the custodial investigation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for filing of criminal charges for violation of Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and Section 1401 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
This latest apprehension was achieved shortly after P1 million worth of party drug ecstasy was also seized by BOC, PDEA and NAIA-IADITG in Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC).
The string of apprehensions involving illegal drugs manifests BOC-NAIA's commitment to fully support the anti-illegal drugs campaign of both Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero and PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva.