The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has tightened its watch on balikbayan boxes following the discovery of nearly P40 million worth of high-grade marijuana (Kush) inside two packages from Canada.
Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said on Sunday that the attempt to smuggle illegal drugs into the country was uncovered by Customs agents acting on information about the presence of Kush inside the balikbayan boxes that arrived at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
He added that verification and inventory procedures conducted by the BOC and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confirmed the presence of illegal drugs inside the boxes from Canada.
Prior to the discovery of the P39.6 million high-grade marijuana at the MICP, the BOC found P158.74 million worth of Kush in balikbayan boxes that arrived in the same port from Thailand.
Rubio lamented the use of the balikbayan boxes, which he described as a symbol of the Filipino diaspora, in smuggling illegal drugs into the country.
