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December 29, 2022 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Nearly P12 billion worth of illegal drugs have been seized at various ports and airports nationwide since January, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported yesterday.
BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said 33 drug personalities and illegal drugs worth P11.953 billion were seized in 107 stings and controlled delivery operations.
“We are seizing a record amount of illegal drugs and (intercepting) them at various airports,” Ruiz said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum.
He said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have taken over K9 services and other detection mechanisms at ports and airports in the past three years.
“Previously, K9 was being conducted by third party service providers. Right now, it is 100 percent PDEA and PCG. With this, we are assured that all shipments are being checked. That’s the secret why we are seizing such high quantities of drugs these past three years,” Ruiz said.
Among those seized was a package containing high-grade marijuana worth P1.3 million.
The illegal drugs were consigned to the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Juanito Jose III, who was charged with illegal drug possession.
When asked if the BOC had traced the supplier that sent the package to Remulla’s son, Ruiz said the agency is still coordinating with their counterparts in the United States, where the seized marijuana came from.
Early this month, a parcel, which contained 5,032 pieces of party drug Ecstasy valued at P8.55 million, was seized during a controlled delivery operation in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Ruiz said the BOC is using a detection and profiling system to monitor certain shipments from countries where smuggled and illegal goods and substances originated.
“We have bolstered our coordination with local and foreign partners who have been providing us with so much information, and it shows that our foreign partners really trust the BOC because they give us information,” he said.
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