BOC-Clark seizes P3.825 million worth of Kush Marijuana hidden in chess furniture

Checkmate! The Bureau of Customs-Port of Clark, under the leadership of District Collector, Atty. Ricardo Uy Morales II, CESE, found 2,318 grams of high-grade kush marijuana worth P3,824,700.00 inside chess pieces of furniture on July 11, 2023.

The shipment came from Bangkok, Thailand and was declared as “furniture”.

The X-ray Inspection Project (XIP) personnel flagged it as suspicious and requested a K9 sniffing by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) K9 Unit. The dogs detected the presence of dangerous drugs.

The customs examiner opened the shipment and discovered 56 packs of dried leaves and buds hidden inside large black chess pieces such as the King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight, and Pawn.

PDEA confirmed that the samples were Marijuana, a dangerous drug under Republic Act (RA) No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

District Collector Morales issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention against the shipment for violating Sections 118 (g), 119 (d), and 1113 par. (f), (I), and (l)-(3) and (4) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act in relation to R.A. No. 9165.

“I commend our vigilant personnel in the X-ray Inspection Project, Customs Anti-illegal Drugs Task Force (CAIDTF), our Customs Examiners, Enforcement and Intelligence personnel for this another successful drug bust. We will remain consistent and we will continue what we are doing in the frontline to guard our country’s borders against entry of illegal drugs,” said District Collector Morales.

“I recognize the Port of Clark’s consistent accomplishments in apprehension of illegal drugs. These accomplishments are proof of Bureau of Customs’ efficient measures in safeguarding our borders against illicit goods,” Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio said in a statement.#