Airport Customs district examiners intercepted 20 packages containing 116 bottles of hemp extract, or liquid cannabis, that arrived recently at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) in Pasay City.
The “hot” items were declared as “dietary supplements” consigned to different recipients in the country.
Airport Customs Collector Mimel Talusan said the use of marijuana, cannabis’ common name, is still prohibited under Philippine laws.
The fraudulent attempt to smuggle the items was stopped due to strict profiling of arriving parcels at the CMEC.
“I have instructed our Customs examiner to conduct of 100 percent scrutiny of suspected parcels in coordination with Philippine Drug Enforcement Unit Agency [PDEA]. They confirmed that the contents of the packages are liquid cannabis,” Talusan said.
The PDEA, on the other hand, stressed that the importation of marijuana in any variety and form, including its derivatives, is prohibited under RA 9165 also known as “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.”
Talusan said that all seized cannabis were turned over to the PDEA for case build up against the persons responsible for the botched attempt to smuggle the prohibited items into the country.
She added the surveillance of suspected prohibited, restricted or unsafe and dangerous goods in the airport district remains strict in accordance with the directive of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero.