Customs intercepts liquid marijuana cartridges

Smugglers seem not to run out of ways to hide their illegal drugs shipments.

Several pieces of Tetrahydrocannabinol or liquid marijuana cartridges declared as pen ink cartridges and candies from the United States were recently intercepted by the Bureau of Customs in Pasay City.

A total of 51 pieces of liquid marijuana cartridges were discovered in a parcel at Central Mail Exchange Center by Customs NAIA agents.

The parcel was consigned to a minor, who went to claim the package in Pasay City three days after the parcel was discovered.

Investigation showed that the package was shipped from San Diego, California.

The minor was later turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Pasay Youth Home under Pasay City government and Department of Social Welfare and Development’s supervision, the bureau said.

Marijuana, the bureau warned, is classified as a dangerous drug under RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. “Importation or exportation of such is prohibited under the above stated law in relation to RA 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization And Tariff Act,” the bureau said in a statement.

The interception of the parcel, according to the Port of NAIA, was one of the 28 drug busts conducted since March 2018 in the airport.

A series of operations in the past showed that drug smugglers used to conceal their drug shipments in toys, religious images, shoes, and metal cylinders, which were used to hide 16.4-billion drugs in 2017, and magnetic lifters, which were to hide 111 billion worth of shabu last year.