INTERNATIONAL drug syndicates continue to abuse the ‘Balikbayan Boxes’ program of the government for the benefit of Filipino overseas workers (OFWs) and their families by inserting over 110 kilos of shabu from a consolidated shipment packed inside a 1X40-footer container van that landed at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) last July 17.
Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno personally led the inspection of the seized contraband valued at more than P749 million, the first major drug seizure under his term as Customs chief.
Acting on “credible intelligence,” District Collector Rizalino Jose Torralba, immediately placed the shipment on alert and placed it under mandatory 100 percent physical examination.
The apprehension would not be the first time that Balikbayan boxes were used by drug syndicates to smuggle illegal drugs into the country.
Last February, P39 million worth of high-grade marijuana from Canada hidden inside several balikbayan boxes were also apprehended at the MICP (Pinoy Exposé, February 10, 2025).