Arriving US national nabbed on arrival for carrying ‘Thai MJ’

Japanese fined ₱2.5 million for failure to declare currencies

On Nov 2, 2026

TOO LATE FOR REGRET. THE unnamed US national arrested at NAIA Terminal 3 last October 29 for bringing in ₱17.46 million worth of high-grade (‘Kush’) marijuana (photo: BOC-PIAD).

AN American national arriving from Thailand was arrested on arrival at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on October 29 after his baggage yielded more than ₱17.46 million worth of high-grade (‘Kush’) marijuana.

District Collector Atty. Yasmin O. Mapa, in a report to Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno, said the contraband was found inside two luggage of the suspect mixed with packets of food after passing thru the airport’s scanning (X-ray) machine.

The 100 percent physical inspection resulted to the discovery of 5 vacuum sealed packages of Kush weighing 5.122 kilos in the first luggage. Another 10 packages were discovered in the second luggage weighing 12.342 kilos.

Mapa also revealed that three days earlier, last October 26, the Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG) also recovered 7.335 kilos of Kush worth ₱7.33 million from abandoned luggage at Terminal 3 that also arrived from Thailand.

This brings the volume of confiscated Kush from Thailand at Terminal 3 to 24.8 kilos worth more than ₱24.79 million from the two incidents, Mapa noted.

Court fines Japanese ₱2.5 million

Meanwhile, the BOC also claimed a Japanese national that it did not name was found guilty by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court for two counts of violating the country’s currency law and was fined a total of ₱2.5 million.

The Japanese was apprehended on arrival last January 23, 2025, after failing to declare $53,710, JPY15.04 million and ₱112,000 in the customs declaration.

The BOC claimed Branch 297 of the Pasay Regional Trial Court first fined the Japanese ₱1.5 million in a decision handed down last April 14 for violating Sections 1400 and Section 1401(e) in relation to Section 117 of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

In a separate trial at Branch 111, the Japanese was fined an additional ₱1 million for violating BSP Circular No. 1146, Series of 2022 in relation to RA 7653.

The BOC said the ruling was handed down last September 15.