Here’s another case of drugs being passed off as food.
The Philippines Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced today that authorities seized around PHP5.5 million (US$107,653.41) worth of illegal drugs declared as gifts and chips from two Metro Manila post offices this month.
The narcotics and bags of sweet potato chips were presented to the media today. According to the BOC, their alert examiners and operatives in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, together with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confiscated 1,490 ecstasy tablets, 3,320 valium tablets, and 1,850 grams of Kush marijuana.
Read: PHP1.4 million pesos worth of marijuana from US seized by PH customs officials
BOC-NAIA’s District Collector Mimel Talusan said that PHP2.3 million (US$45,018.70) worth of ecstasy tablets were declared as gifts by a sender from Germany while PHP2.9 million worth of Kush marijuana was declared as tortilla chips from the United States, ABS-CBN News reported.
“BOC-NAIA is committed to be always vigilant in protecting the borders from the entry and exit of illicit goods,” Talusan said, according to The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The ecstasy and marijuana were to be received by two consignees, one from Cavite and one from San Juan City.
The valium tablets, meanwhile, were meant to be sent to 36 consignees in Australia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. The valium reportedly came from four different senders from Parañaque City and Bulacan, GMA News reported.
The packages reportedly arrived at Pasay and Parañaque City post offices this month and last month.
The PDEA plans to file charges against the consignees. The owner of the marijuana was previously nabbed by authorities and is now in the custody of the PDEA.
This is just the latest case of drugs being hidden in everyday items like food. In February, a woman was arrested when she delivered a loaf of bread to an inmate with meth hidden inside it.
