Government agents assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airpaort (NAIA) on Wednesday intercepted a smuggled shipment of high-grade marijuana at a warehouse in Pasay City.
The shipment from California, USA was consigned to one Jeric Herrera, a resident of Sta. Cruz, Manila.
Based on import documents, the sender declared the shipment as Tevana Herbal Tea, which arrived at the Federal Express warehouse.
But Bureau of Customs – Xray Inspection Project (BoC-XIP) personnel detected suspicious green images contained in five cans during the initial inspection on Tuesday.
The following day, the BoC-XIP men, with help from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, placed the shipment under physical examination and found five plastics of kush, a restricted imported item.
At press time, the authorities are conducting follow-up operations while the shipment was turned over to PDEA for proper disposition.
Authorities meanwhile arrested a big-time drug peddler and seized P3.4 million worth of suspected shabu.
Novaliches police station commander Lt. Col. Jerry Castillo identified the suspect as Bryan Santos, a resident of Barangay Sta. Lucia, Novaliches.
The Quezon City Police District nabbed Santos in Barangay Gulod in a buy-bust operation conducted in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
The suspect yielded 500 grams of suspected shabu, one green sling bag, a cellular phone and the buy-bust money. The suspect would face charges of violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. With Rio N. Araja