A man enjoying a beachside Sunday picnic with his family got the surprise of his life yesterday when he found floating bricks of suspected cocaine in Mauban town, Quezon Province.
Fish vendor Ruel Perez, 44 years old, discovered seven bricks in Sitio Bulwagin, Barangay (Village) Cagsiay at around noon, GMA News reported.
Quezon Police director Police Col. Ramil Montilla told ABS-CBN News that if proven to be cocaine, the seven bricks — which weigh around 7 kilograms in total — cost around PHP35 million (US$681,723.12).
Perez noticed it floating in the waters near the shore and immediately notified authorities about it.
Lt. Col. Julio Go, who heads the Quezon Provincial Police Office’s intelligence unit told the Manila Bulletin that the packages contained a white substance, were wrapped with packaging tape and had the Rockstar energy drink logo.
They have been brought to the laboratory in Camp Nakar, Lucena City, reported The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Cocaine bricks have been found near or in Philippine waters as early as February, starting with a package that contained around PHP5 million (US$97,389.02) worth of the illegal drug found by two fishermen in Vinzons, Camarines Norte. A block of cocaine was also found in Maubon in February.
Thirty-nine blocks of cocaine worth around PHP218.4million (US$4.25 million) were discovered in the waters off Gubat, Sorsogon as recently as May.
Cocaine bricks have also been spotted in the Dinagat Islands, Davao Oriental, Camarines Norte, Aurora, and Siargao.
No one knows exactly where the illegal drugs are coming from but some authorities believe syndicates are using the Philippines as a transshipment site before delivering to other countries.
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